The title says it all: “A difficult decade.”
Give the economic analysts at NAI Isaac credit for honesty. That’s how they titled the company’s 2010 report on Lexington and the central Kentucky region.
But the report’s subhead is telling, too: “Lexington and central Kentucky markets fare better than other areas of the country.”
The subhead is important; yes, Lexington and its surrounding areas certainly saw better years than 2010. But at the same time, it could have been much worse. And many other markets in the Midwest and across the country did suffer through worse years.
Office vacancies in the suburban market stood at 16.99 percent, while those in the central business district hit 16.59 percent. Retail vacancy rates stood at 8.35 percent, a bit of an improvement, while the industrial vacancy rate hit 14.43 percent.
These aren’t stellar numbers. But they don’t look so bad when compared to many other markets across the country.
What will 2011 hold for Lexington and central Kentucky? NAI Isaac’s researchers expressed hope that a lack of of new construction will help boost the occupancy rate in the office sector, while other markets should benefit from an economy that is slowly showing signs of stabilizing.
