The office market is becoming a story of the haves and the have-nots. Building owners may have known for a while now that research shows properties with LEED and other green certifications get a premium on rents, as we’ve reported on before. It turns out this applies to smart buildings and ones that are more digitally connected, too. In the amenities arms race in this office flight to quality, whatever owners can do to level up their buildings seems to make a big difference.
A new Moody’s Analytics report shows that Class A properties with WiredScore certifications outperformed the Class A national average in rent growth by 2.2 percent over the past two years. The WiredScore Certification program is a digital connectivity certification that rates properties based on the quality and resilience of their digital infrastructure. Other available smart building certifications include BOMA’s BEST Smart Buildings and UL and the Telecommunications Industry Association’s SPIRE smart building assessment and rating program.
Building owners may be tired of hearing all the talk about certifications, especially new ones related to smart buildings. There are so many to choose from that it gets a little confusing. But these certificates may matter in corporate occupiers’ eyes. Moody’s research also showed that, on a per-square-foot basis, rents in WiredScore-certified properties are $6.50 higher. Lease terms in WiredScore properties are also longer by approximately nine months.