by Calculated Risk on 4/05/2011 08:30:00 AM

From Bloomberg: Office Market in U.S. Begins Recovery as Vacancy Rate Declines

Office vacancies in the U.S. dropped for the first time in more than three years in the most recent quarter and rents climbed ... The national vacancy rate fell to 17.5 percent in the first quarter from 17.6 percent in the previous three months, Reis Inc. said in a report today.

“This is the first quarter, at least on a national basis, where the change is strong enough to qualify it as the first quarter of a recovery,” Ryan Severino, an economist at Reis, said in an interview. ...

Click on graph for larger image in graph gallery.

This graph shows the office vacancy rate starting in 1991.

Reis is reporting the vacancy rate was at 17.5% in Q1 2011, down slightly from 17.6% in Q4 2010, and up from 17.3% in Q1 2010. This was a small decline in the vacancy rate - but it was the first decline since 2007.

Reis should release the Mall and Apartment vacancy rates over the next few days.