A positive sign for the office sector as 2025 begins? Swisher Commercial in its 2024 Year-End Vacancy Report said that the overall vacancy rate for office and flex space in the Ann Arbor, Michigan, market had fallen at the close of last year.
The fall wasn’t a big one, with the flex and office space vacancy rate in this market dropping from 14.6% at the close of 2023 to 14.3% as of the end of last year. Still, in the office market today, any drop in vacancy rates should be considered good news.
Swisher Commercial reported that the office vacancy rate in Ann Arbor showed a modest 0.1% decrease from the end of 2023, closing 2024 at 15.1%.
The vacancy rate for flex space showed a bigger dip, dropping from 12.7% at the end of 2023 to 11.6% as of the end of 2024.
Among the eight Ann Arbor submarkets that Swisher Commercial analyzed, three saw declining vacancy rates as of the end of 2024, four saw increases and one was mostly unchanged.
The office and flex sector in downtown Ann Arbor saw its vacancy rate rise from 15.1% as of the end of 2023 to 15.2% as of year-end 2024. That result requires more explanation, though: Swisher Commercial reported that 10 buildings in the downtown Ann Arbor market saw vacancy increases while 12 saw their vacancy rates fall.
Swisher Commercial reported that the West Flex Area submarket saw the biggest drop in vacancy rates last year, falling from 20.4% as of the end of 2023 to 10.3% as of the final days of last year. That’s a drop of 10.1%, largely driven by the leasing of a single 85,000-square-foot space.
