Sun Starts to Set on Once-Hot Sunbelt Office Markets

Office markets in popular Sunbelt cities are showing signs of fatigue, succumbing to economic uncertainty and the persistence of remote work that had already upended major coastal office markets. 

Fast-growing cities from Miami to Phoenix are still benefiting from businesses moving south, drawn by lower taxes, warmer climates than in the Northwest and Midwest, and more business-friendly government policies, market participants say. Nashville, Tenn., and Austin, Texas, recently topped the list of 2022’s hottest job markets, according to The Wall Street Journal’s annual rankings of nearly 400 metro areas.