Looking for office space in Austin but don’t know where to look? Have a budget in mind and want to get the most bang for your buck? If this sounds like you, you’ve come to the right place.
In this article, we’ll dig into current rental rates for each of Austin’s primary submarkets and how much space you’ll be able to afford with a budget of $5,000 per month.
Current Austin Rental Rates
If you’re unsure about how rental rates are calculated, the difference between base rates and operating expenses, or why rental rates vary, we recommend you read our article on these topics. As a brief overview, full-service rental rates in Austin are quoted on a per-square-foot per-year basis and are comprised of the base rate and the operating expenses.
In the table below, you can see a breakdown of current rates in each of Austin’s primary submarkets. Downtown Austin has historically been the most expensive submarket, while the Northwest and Southwest are relatively more affordable.
| Submarket | Base Rate | Op/Ex | Full Service |
| CBD | $45.34 | $26.65 | $71.99 |
| East | $42.12 | $18.60 | $60.72 |
| Northwest | $29.95 | $16.87 | $46.82 |
| Southwest | $33.08 | $17.13 | $50.21 |
If you know roughly how large of an office space you are looking for, simply multiply the full-service rate by the square footage to get an estimate of what your office expenses would be per year.
Read Next: How Much Office Space Do I Need? (Calculator & Per Person Standards)
What You Can Afford With A $5,000 Monthly Budget
So, let’s assume you’ve run the numbers and found that you can afford to spend $5,000 per month on your office space. With this budget in mind, we can calculate how much space you can reasonably afford to occupy in each submarket.
In the CBD, $5,000 per month will get you roughly 831 square feet of office space at today’s rates. However, most properties downtown also charge roughly $200 per month for each parking space used by a tenant, so you’ll need to factor that cost in as well. Other submarkets typically have free parking for tenants.
Your budget will go a little further if you choose to lease space in the East submarket, securing you just under 1,000 square feet. In the Northwest submarket, you’d be able to afford roughly 1,300 square feet and you could afford 1,200 square feet in the Southwest submarket.
It’s also important to remember that the majority of office leases in Austin include base rate escalations, and operating expenses frequently increase from year to year. It’s typically advisable to secure an office space slightly smaller than your budget allows to account for these cost increases over time.
Conclusion
We hope this article gave you a good understanding of how much office space you can afford in each of Austin’s submarkets. Your budget and space requirements will play a large role in your office selection process, so defining those requirements at the beginning of your search can save you from wasted time and headaches down the road.
We highly recommend that you seek the expertise of a tenant representation broker, who will be able to speak directly with you about your specific needs and the best ways to accommodate those needs within the market.
If you’re ready to start your search for office space, read our Ultimate Guide to Finding Office Space.
