The area's current vacancy rate is "behind the curve" at about 7.5%, according to Hugh F. Kelly, CRE, chief economist for the Landauer Realty Group. Meanwhile, J. Leonard Caldeira of Cushman & Wakefield has figures showing a 5.7% vacancy rate in the city, 6.3% in the suburbs. Either way, the vacancy rate is higher that the East and West coasts--they hover around 3% in both Seattle and Oakland, 3.7% in New Jersey--while prices have been driven to "exceptionally high" levels, Kelly said. Meanwhile, capital has ignored the nation's heartland. But that will change, Kelly predicts.

"We're going to see a rebound in the next three years, with the central part of the country capturing some of that investment capital," Kelly says.

The price appreciation already is underway in some portions of the market, such as Goose Island on the Chicago River about three miles northwest of the Loop. "The worst advice a broker can give is advice based on listing comparables," says J. Leonard Caldeira of Cushman & Wakefield. But while city prices have soared it represents a small percentage of the market, he adds.Instead, the DuPage/Will County area saw the most transactions involving 100,000 sf or more last year, with Will County seeing more than three million sf added through build-to-suit projects. When the capital Kelly foresees coming to the Midwest arrives, the Cook and Will County areas along Interstate 80 should reap further benefits, Caldeira said. And western Cook County continues to see "pent-up demand" despite more than 4.4 million sf added last year.Projects such as the Ford plant on Chicago's southeast side and the Joliet Arsenal also don't hurt, Caldeira says. "It'll cause major users to give the Chicago marketplace a look at what's going on in this town," he said.