The office vacancy rate remain elevated in Southeast Wisconsin as of the end of the third quarter. But in better news, the Milwaukee-area office market saw positive net absorption during the same period, bucking a recent trend.
That’s the highlight from the third quarter Southeast Wisconsin office overview by the Commercial Association of REALTORS Wisconsin and Moody’s.
According to the report, the overall office vacancy rate for the Southeast Wisconsin market stood at 18.6% as of the end of the third quarter. The quarter also saw 29,564 square feet of positive net absorption.
For the year, though, this market has seen negative 633,727 square feet of absorption.
The association reported that the office vacancy rate was slightly lower — 16.9% — in the Milwaukee CBD.
Suburban Southeast Wisconsin markets posted 51,800 square feet of positive net absorption during the third quarter and ended the quarter with a vacancy rate of 19.8%.
While office activity remains muted in Southeast Wisconsin, as it does across the country, the Commercial Association of REALTORS Wisconsin reported that the Milwaukee Northwest submarket experienced the largest increase of net absorption with 38,600 square feet in the third quarter.
The biggest lease deal in this submarket came from Horizon Health Care & Hospice, which leased 31,500 square feet of office space.
The Milwaukee Downtown West submarket saw the highest amount of negative absorption, recording 34,400 square feet of negative absorption.
Not surprisingly, this market isn’t seeing much new construction. The Commercial Association of REALTORS Wisconsin reported that only 20,300 square feet of office space was under construction here as of the end of the third quarter.
