Part of that ugliness is the fact that tenants are trying to get concessions and rent breaks in this environment. "The pressure on rents is intense," Hankowsky said. "Every deal is a fight."

The area where Liberty, the owner of 77 million square feet of office and industrial, is seeing its toughest occupancy challenges is in the big box industrial sector, with single-use buildings more than 500,000 square feet that are normally housed by retailers or consumer-products companies. "These guys, fundamentally, are almost extinct in the market," Hankowsky said. Liberty's overall occupancy came in at 89.4%, down from 90.1% during the prior-year period.

There is some good news, though. On the plus side, tenant distress is down, Liberty executives said, and a lot of subleasing activity is taking place in the portfolio.