Stormy Economy Caused Minimal Damage in Westchester

STAMFORD, CT-Commercial brokerage firm Insignia/ESG says that, unlike in years past, the slowing economy caused only minimal damage to the office market in Westchester County.

“These results clearly demonstrate Westchester’s new found resilience against the fluctuations of the business cycle,” suggests Dean J. Shapiro, executive director of Insignia/ESG’s Westchester-Connecticut office. “In the past, the corporate retrenchments characteristic of a slower economy would have caused a major downslide in Westchester’s commercial market. That didn’t happen this time around because of the diversity of the tenant base and flexibility of most buildings.”

Though leasing slowed in the first half of this year as compared to the same period in 2000, the volume remained in line with historical norms, Insignia/ESG officials say. Despite the troubled economy, the county’s office availability rose just over three tenths of a percentage point to 13.1% from the same period last year. To show just how stable the county’s office market has been of late, the mid-year 2001 rate was almost flat as compared to the 13.2% rate posted three months ago.