DETROIT—The vacancy rate for the Metro Detroit office market fell 70 bps to 16.5% during the first quarter of 2017, as just over 697,000 square feet was absorbed, according to a new report from Newmark Grubb Knight Frank. This marks the 19th consecutive quarter of positive absorption for the office market, totaling 7.8 million square feet.
But the CBD has been the standout performer, accounting for 30% of overall absorption. During the first quarter, the CBD's vacancy rate sank 110 bps to a historically low 11.8%, and that has some developers eager to launch significant new construction, once an unthinkable option.
“Just five years ago, the vacancy rate was 27%,” John DeGroot, Farmington Hills, MI-based research manager for NGKF, tells GlobeSt.com. And the strong leasing activity “shows no sign of slowing down. We are seeing on average more than 100,000 square feet of absorption every quarter.”
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Brian J. Rogal
Brian J. Rogal is a Chicago-based freelance writer with years of experience as an investigative reporter and editor, most notably at The Chicago Reporter, where he concentrated on housing issues. He also has written extensively on alternative energy and the payments card industry for national trade publications.
