Industrial and retail space in Sugar Land is almost completely occupied, according to the Sugar Land Development Corporation’s latest annual report. Average rents for retail space in the city are outpacing the national average by roughly 30 percent.

Figures released by Sugar Land’s Office of Economic Development show the average rent for retail space in Sugar Land is $24 per square foot. By comparison, the average cost for rental retail space nationally was $18.43 per square foot as of the fourth quarter of 2016, according to real estate research company CoStar Group.

Last week, the SLDC released its annual report for the fiscal year ending Sept. 30, 2016. The report shows the vacancy rate for Sugar Land retail space is 3.2 percent, compared to a vacancy rate of 5.1 percent for the U.S., according to Jones Lang LaSalle Inc., an investment management firm specializing in real estate.

Meanwhile, the vacancy rate for industrial space is at 2.6 percent, compared to a national average of 5.8 percent, according JLL.

At the SLDC board of directors’ January meeting, director and Council Member Bridget Yeung expressed concern about Sugar Land missing out on opportunities to attract new business because companies cannot find space.

“The need to build capacity is important,” Robert Lung, assistant director of economic development, said at the meeting. “It’s a good and a bad thing to be highly occupied.”

The report shows that Sugar Land’s vacancy rate for office space—8.7 percent—is significantly higher, but is still below the national vacancy rate, which was 12.9 percent in the fourth quarter of 2016, according to real estate services company CBRE Group Inc.

The city’s projections show demand for commercial space to remain high through 2030, said Jennifer May, Sugar Land’s executive director of business and governmental affairs.