Daily Real Estate News  |  March 11, 2004  |   Offshoring May Cripple U.S. Office Markets According to a new joint report by the Urban Land Institute and the Columbia Business School's Paul Milstein Center for Real Estate, the ongoing movement of knowledge-based jobs to overseas markets presents a threat to the health of America's office property markets. The so-called offshoring of such work practically guarantees that high vacancy rates and minimal office rent hikes will be the norm for several years to come and will affect a wide range of office space. The report, titled "The New Exports: Office Jobs," estimates that the 400,000-plus positions that have already been shifted to international markets have left between 70 and 80 million square feet of offices vacant--equal to nearly one year's supply of new office development. Offshoring of tech jobs started a decade ago as U.S. firms struggled to meet soaring demand for new and emerging technology and accelerated rapidly with Y2K compliance work and the increasing relocation of call centers to such countries as India and Ireland.

Source: Inman News Features (03/10/04)