Third Quarter 2013 Market Peek

NAI Hiffman is pleased to present its Third Quarter 2013 Market
Peek, a sneak peek at the market statistics for the Chicago Metropolitan office
and industrial real estate markets.

Industrial Vacancy Drops
for 13th Quarter in a Row to 8.5%

 The industrial vacancy rate
decreased by 20 basis points during the third quarter to 8.5% as more than 4.2
million SF of vacant space was absorbed through continued leasing activity,
user sales and completed built-to-suit and fully-leased construction projects.
Momentum has been positive for the past 13 quarters, resulting in the
absorption of more than 44 million SF of formerly vacant space.

Market-wide, over 6.5 million SF is under construction, the most development activity the market has seen since before 2009. 46% of the current construction activity is speculative development. During the third quarter alone, more than 2.7 million SF of new development projects were completed. The most active submarkets for new construction are the I-80/Joliet Corridor, the I-55 Corridor, Southeast Wisconsin and O’Hare.

Demand for Office Space Picks Up in the Suburban Market

Both the downtown and suburban
office markets witnessed improving conditions during the third
quarter. Demand increased in the suburban office market, as over 142,000
SF of vacant space was absorbed, pushing the overall suburban vacancy rate down
16 basis points to end the quarter at 20.13%. The East-West Corridor and North
Suburban markets saw the most demand during the period, with the O’Hare Area
and I-55 Corridor witnessing slightly negative net absorption. 

Demand among downtown buildings remained
positive during the third quarter, but was less than last quarter as 238,000 SF
of vacant space was absorbed between July and September, compared to nearly
400,000 SF during the second quarter. This pushed the downtown vacancy rate
down 26 basis points to end the quarter at 12.74%.

For
further information regarding the content of this market peek, please contact:
Craig
Hurvitz | Director of Statistics and Market Information
630 693
0645 or churvitz@hiffman.com

If you are interested in attending a custom market overview presentation,
please contact:
John
Picchiotti | Chief Operating Officer, Brokerage
630 691
0608 or jpicchiotti@hiffman.com