The metropolitan Chicago industrial market witnessed strong tenant demand during the first quarter of 2012, pushing leasing volume above the 9-million-square-foot mark for the second consecutive quarter, according to Colliers International. However, this was not enough to keep the vacancy rate from posting a 10-basis-point increase from the previous quarter.
The overall first quarter vacancy rate measured 10.70 percent, up slightly from the fourth quarter 2011 total of 10.60 percent. Strong first quarter leasing activity prevented vacancies from climbing higher.
Available industrial supply returning to the market totaled 16.0 million square feet in the first quarter, the highest total since the third quarter of 2009 when 16.1 million square feet re-entered the market, according to Colliers. Most of this supply occurred in the 100,000-square-foot to 300,000-square-foot size range, representing 5.4 million square feet or 33.8 percent of the recently vacated supply.
DeKalb County, I-80/Joliet corridor and Fox Valley submarkets achieved the sharpest decline in vacant supply, while the I-55 corridor, Chicago North and far south suburbs experienced the largest gains.
