Chicago Office Market
| Average Asking Rent (Price/SF) |
$32.07 |
| Vacancy Rate (%) |
21.3% |
| Net Absorption (SF) | 72,487 |
With loosening pandemic mandates and returns to the office, there is optimism regarding the office market for 2022. Traffic increased tremendously compared to the beginning of the pandemic, with foot traffic up 129%, vehicle traffic up 52.0% and public transit activity up 21.0%. This optimism, though, has not translated into market fundamentals in the first quarter of 2022. The overall metro saw a rise in vacancy of almost a full percent, bringing the total to 21.3%. Net absorption was positive at 77,487 square feet. Availability increased 80 basis points, bringing the total to 27.0%, with sublet availability dropping 10 basis points to 4.2%. Despite the rise in vacancy and availability, the direct rental rates increased by $0.61/SF to $32.07/SF. These stabilized rates are thanks in large part to Fulton Market’s continued success, as the submarket has seen its rates rise to a market high of $51.00/SF.
Download Chicago Office Market Report 1Q22 [PDF]
Download Chicago CBD Office Market Report 1Q22 [PDF]
Download Chicago Suburban Office Market Report 1Q22 [PDF]
Chicago Industrial Market
| Average Asking Rent (Price/SF) | $6.12 |
| Vacancy Rate (%) | 4.4% |
| Net Absorption (SF) | 10,838,302 |
Chicago’s industrial market continues to set records and shows no signs of slowing. For another quarter, vacancy has hit record lows, falling 60 basis points this quarter and 180 basis points year-over-year to 4.4%. The historic run of positive quarterly absorption continues, with 10.8 million square feet of absorption in the first quarter of 2022. This is down from the previous few quarters, but with vacancy rates continuing to fall and renewals/extension still playing a large role in new deals, demand is greatly outweighing availability. Leasing volume reached 18.2 million square feet, pushing availability from 81.5 million square feet to 66.8 million square feet this quarter. Industrial construction continues to boom, despite no change in the material and pricing struggles as 25.1 million square feet are currently under construction and 2.3 million square feet of inventory has delivered so far in 2022.