Colliers Sees No Office Turnaround in First Half

ORLANDO-Nobody expected a miracle, and Colliers International didn’t present one in its newest analysis of office leasing activity nationally and locally. With a 12% direct vacancy in all classes throughout Downtown and the suburbs, the report projects demand in most major metropolitan markets will be weak, at least until the third quarter.

“Near non-existent demand, continued job losses and new space being delivered to the market indicate that the outlook for office space is likely to remain anemic for the next few quarters,” says Ross Moore, vice president and director of research for Colliers International.

The national office market experienced its eighth consecutive quarter of negative absorption at year end 2002, “indicating that hopes for a recovery of the commercial real estate markets in the first half of 2003 may have been too optimistic,” Moore says.