West Beltway 8 The West Beltway 8 submarket is situated in the northwest corner of Beltway 8. Also known as West Belt, this submarket is part of Houston’s dynamic growth westward. Over the past few years, a good deal of office movement has happened outside Houston’s Inner Loop. All signs show that westward expansion will continue in the coming years. This area in particular has differentiated itself from neighboring submarkets and has been reclassified due to increasing development along this portion of Beltway 8. Another reason for the reclassification of this submarket stems from the area’s rents, which are slightly higher than the FM 1960, North Loop and Katy Freeway submarkets. This West Belt submarket has 104 commercial office buildings, with 6,908,394 SF of rentable office space. The current commercial office vacancy is about 18%. The average annual leasing rates are around $27.00 per SF per year.
