U.S. office occupancy rises at disappointing rate

The U.S. office market improved during the fourth quarter of 2012 — but barely. The amount of occupied office space grew by 3.7 million square feet during the quarter, reducing the vacancy rate by just 0.1 percent, the Wall Street Journal reported.

Nationwide asking rents increased to $28.46 per square foot, up 1.8 percent from December 2011. For the year, occupied U.S. office space increased by 17.2 million square feet.