by Shane Henson — July 22, 2013—The U.S. commercial real estate market remained on a slow but steady recovery path in the second quarter of 2013 (Q2 2013), according to the latest analysis from the CBRE Group Inc., a global commercial real estate services and investment firm.
The firm’s findings include:
- The office vacancy rate dropped 20 basis points (bps) during the quarter to 15.3 percent. The decline confirms the national office market’s ongoing recovery despite slow economic growth. National vacancy now stands 170 bps below its peak in Q2 2010.
- National industrial availability decreased by 30 bps during the quarter to 12.0 percent. While modest, the decline is one of the strongest since the industrial sector recovery began in 2010.
- The retail availability rate also fell 30 bps to 12.2 percent. This marks the second consecutive quarter that availability has dropped 30 bps, reflecting improved retailer confidence as consumer spending continues to rebound.
- Demand for the nation’s apartment buildings remained robust with vacancy in Q2 2013 of 4.6 percent, a decrease of 20 bps from Q2 2012 and 50 bps from Q1 2013.
“While the overhang of space created in the recent recession has not been entirely eliminated, significant improvement has been seen in market fundamentals,” said Jon Southard, managing director of CBRE’s Econometric Advisors group. “Demand for space was better than expected across the property types in Q2. As a result, the market has moved even closer to a supply/demand balance that supports continued modest rent growth in many local markets.”
