However, company officials point out this is still better than last year's third-quarter totals, which were 3.17 million.

Also, it appears that the Detroit area will have its least amount of space delivered in at least five years. In 1998, the area saw about 9 million sf built. This year, if projects are completed as expected, there will be just more than 4 million sf built.

Thanks to less construction in a weakened economy, the other trends including availability and lease rates have stayed at about the same levels as second quarter, instead of going down as well.

There is still space available, and deals in the less than 12,000-sf range are still being done as normal, CB Richard Ellis reports. Where tenants have proven they are stable and can grow, they are buying buildings or landing favorable lease terms from landlords in the form of free rent or concessions, officials at the brokerage firm say.

One remarkable factor, according to the brief, has been the massive job losses. About 135,000 jobs were lost in this market in 2001-2002, due to weakness in the automotive suppliers and the tech sectors.