Lease transactions, primarily in the warehousing sector, accounted for more than 12 million sf of first half activity. Strong demand, which has gone hand-in-hand with the strong economy, has been given an added push in the Chicago area by the expansion of logistics companies and retail and E-commerce expansion, according to CB Richard Ellis.

The overall vacancy rate for the Chicago industrial market, encompassing a 949-million-sf property base, declined slightly in Q2 to 7% from 7.1%, according to the report. Breaking out larger properties (100,000 sf and greater), the vacancy rate decreased to 7.3% from 7.5%.

Year-to-date, there's been a moderate pickup in new development, which accelerated in 1995 and since has averaged 14.9 million sf of new starts annually. There was 8.1 million sf of construction starts during first half, compared to 7.9 million sf during the first six months of 1999.

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