March 31, 2016

By: Graham Hildebrand, Research Manager, JLL Houston

The stage is set for Houston to host the NCAA Final Four and National Championship. Who will leave Clutch City having had “One Shining Moment”? We’re basing it all on the stats – office stats that is.

Our research team has run the numbers and predicts ultimate victory for the winner of the Villanova/Oklahoma game.

Instead of points-per-possession and 3-pointers made, several off-the-court statistics were considered to determine the outcome of this year’s tournament. Total vacancy rates, total absorption and average Class A asking rent were examined for the major U.S. metro areas closest to the Final Four universities. Here’s the breakdown:

	(2) Villanova University Philadelphia Office Statistics – Q1 2016 Total vacancy rate: 12.4% (#4) Total absorption: 649,094 SF (#1) Average Class A asking rent: $27.31/SF (#1)
	(2) University of Oklahoma Oklahoma City Office Statistics – Q1 2016 Total vacancy rate: 10.2% (#1) Total absorption: 144,827 SF (#2) Average Class A asking rent: $20.05/SF (#3)
	(1) University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill Raleigh/Durham Office Statistics – Q1 2016 Total vacancy rate: 11.9% (#3) Total absorption: 55,594 SF (#4) Average Class A asking rent: $24.31/SF (#2)
	(10) Syracuse University Buffalo/Niagara Office Statistics – Q1 2016 Total vacancy rate: 10.7% (#2) Total absorption: 47,538 SF (#3) Average Class A asking rent: $18.99/SF (#4)

When averaging the office stat rankings for these four metro areas, we find that Villanova University and the University of Oklahoma both score an average ranking of two, while the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill and Syracuse University both score an average ranking of three.

As Villanova and OU play each other in a semi-final this Saturday, it allows for a firm prediction that the winner of that semi-final should go on to cut down the nets Monday night. Cue Luther Vandross and the video montage.

Hosting the event for the second time in five years, Houston is poised to emerge a winner as well. The tournament is expected to bring with it a $300 million boost to the local economy.

About the Author

Graham Hildebrand is a Research Manager in JLL’s Houston office. He has 10 years of experience in commercial real estate research and analysis. His current focus is data collection and deep market analysis of both Houston’s office and industrial sectors.