Nationwide office vacancy decreases for fourth consecutive quarter

National office vacancy has fallen for the fourth consecutive quarter since peaking at 16.8 percent, according to a July analysis from CB Richard Ellis, cited by Reit.com. In the second quarter the vacancy rate reached a low of 16.2 percent, with the majority of nationwide commercial real estate sectors benefiting from gradually improving economic conditions.

Overall, vacancy declined in 34 of the 57 local markets tracked by CBRE in the second quarter and fell 20 basis points for downtown and suburban office markets — 13 percent for downtown and 18 percent for suburban. Markets that included a mix of technology, professional and business firms were top performers.

Similarly to the first quarter of 2011, the report noted that markets hit hardest by the recent economic downturn such as Florida were also among the best performers in the second quarter, as tenants benefited from low leasing rates.

“The property sectors outside of retail are benefiting from the modest pace of economic recovery and muted construction activity,” Asieh Mansour, head of Americas research for CBRE, said. [Reit.com]