Jeff Samaras, an EVP at Cushman and Wakefield, says he sees the glass as half full for owners Downtown, pegging vacancy there at a lower 14.7%, and possibly dropping by as much as 200 basis points by the end of the year. However, he agrees with Steinmeyer that tenants still have the throttle. "The conservative Chicago business community will continue to take a wait-and-see approach when it comes to acquiring additional space," he says.

Daniel Nikitas, EVP at MB Real Estate, says big corporations making big deals, such as the AMA moving into the former IBM Building, make the city "feel good" regardless of fundamentals. "In addition to major renewals, Chicago's become a destination, with continued migration to the city by companies such as Kraft, Sara Lee and ThyssenKrupp," he says.

Todd Lippman, vice chairman at CBRE, says the credit for large tenants moving to the city should go to Mayor Rahm Emanuel and his corporate point man, Grosvenor Capital Management CEO Michael Sacks, who the mayor named vice chairman of World Business Chicago last summer. "They've both done a great job articulating the benefits of moving from the suburbs to Chicago."

The Indianapolis market has returned somewhat from a slow 2011. It's estimated that the state will add about 40,000 jobs in 2012, likely pushing the unemployment rate down to 8% by yearend, according to Jason Tolliver, a research director with Cassidy Turley. "I'm optimistic about Indianapolis commercial property," Tolliver says. "I expect the time on market for real estate to decline, and for development to pick up in multifamily, which has witnessed over two years of consecutive growth."

Joshua Caruana agrees that there's growing demand for apartments in Indianapolis. He's the regional manager of the local Marcus & Millichap Real Estate Investment Services office. "Out-ofstate investors will seek Indianapolis multifamily assets because of these strengthening economic conditions and comparatively higher yields," Caruana says. "We expect buyers to trade up into larger Indianapolis assets or diversify their portfolios with a stronger Midwestern asset allocation. Class A properties, in particular, will attract out-of-area interest due to competitive pricing, particularly when compared to larger metros like Chicago, New York City, Los Angeles and Washington, DC." Indy apartment class A cap rates for the year should average in the lowto mid-7% range.

Caruana also handles the Cincinnati market and says ongoing interest in redeveloping the Downtown there, combined with minimal new retail construction, will result in lower vacancy rates across the region by the end of 2012. The recently opened Banks project and Horseshoe Casino are expected to bring about 2,000 jobs Downtown, and attract six million visitors annually, for example.

"Retail leasing and investment activity is picking up in the Cincinnati MSA," Caruana says. "Single-tenant retail properties will remain attractive to both local and out-of-state investors looking for yield and the security of strong credit tenancy, though location still plays a significant role in investor risk tolerance.

Douglas Bolton, a managing principal with Cassidy Turley, says Cincinnati's office market remains weak, hampered by high vacancy and significant oversupply in Northern Kentucky, but there's been some improvement. "Despite the loss of Chiquita Brands' main offices, the urban core is seeing a dramatic uptick in activity," he says. The most recent announcement by consumer research firm Dunnhumby USA of plans to build a 250,000-squarefoot office headquarters at the old Fountain Square West site is proof there's still interest in the city, Bolton says.