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Monday, October 04, 2010

Reis: Office Vacancy Rate at 17 Year High

by Calculated Risk on 10/04/2010 11:59:00 PM

Office Vacancy Rate Click on graph for larger image in new window.

This graph shows the office vacancy rate starting in 1991.

Reis is reporting the vacancy rate rose to 17.5% in Q3 2010, up from 17.4% in Q2 2010, and up from 16.6% in Q3 2009. The peak following the previous recession was 16.9%.

From the WSJ Signs of Recovery For Office Market

[O]ffice buildings in 79 metropolitan areas tracked by Reis lost 1.9 million square feet of occupied space in the third quarter, pushing the national office vacancy rate to 17.5%, the highest level since 1993.
...
Average effective rents ... fell by just a penny in the last three months, the smallest quarterly decline since 2008.
It appears the rate of increase in the vacancy rate has slowed - and rents may be stabilizing.

Reis should release the Mall and Apartment vacancy rates over the next few days, and those will probably be at record levels.