The vacancy rate was 17.9%, the report says. The unchanging rate was fueled by nearly one million sf of construction and significant sublease space added to the office sector. High vacancy rates continued to plague the central business district, which ended the fourth quarter with a rate of 19.4%. New construction is part to blame for Brickell Avenue's overall vacancy rate climbing to 21% from 16.8% in 2002. The Downtown area also had a high overall vacancy rate, 18%, at the end of the year, compared with 15.5% in 2002.

Outside the central business district, the overall vacancy rate dropped to 17.2% in 2003 from 18.8% a year earlier. Other signs of improvement in the market include strong leasing activity and positive net absorption during most of 2003. Leasing activity for the year was 3.3 million sf, while direct net absorption was positive 473,806 sf, up from 2002's negative 104,269 sf. Most of the leasing activity last year was outside the central business district, and much of the activity consisted of tenant expansions and relocations. But the Brickell Avenue submarket did experience a 32% hike in leasing from year-end 2002 to 2003, fueled by pre-leasing of new construction.

Despite healthy leasing and the absorption of some sublease space, available sublease space was up 4% to 784,421 sf at the end of 2003, compared with a year earlier. Of the sublease availabilities, 30 % was in the Brickell Avenue submarket alone. But these conditions should improve, as this year should experience strong leasing activity.