Fairfield County Real Estate Market Reports

Fairfield County Office Market

The county’s total vacancy rate rose to 23.9%, up from 22.6% at this time last year. The availability rate—which include both vacant properties and those that are still occupied but available for lease—increased to 27.4%, from 26.1%. Leasing activity held steady year over year, totaling 581,861 SF across 95 deals, matching levels from a year ago but falling 23.0% below the 10-year historical average of 760,000 SF. While Stamford, Downtown Greenwich, and the Central to Northern markets saw declines in leasing velocity, the Norwalk market experienced notable increases, particularly driven by a surge in activity at the Merritt 7 Corporate Park. The Greenwich non-CBD also saw significant increases in demand year over year. Demand was driven primarily by deals ranging from 5,000 SF to 10,000 SF, as well as midsize deals in the 25,000 SF to 50,000 SF range. By contrast, deals for less than 5,000 SF were less common this quarter. The Norwalk market experienced an unusually active quarter, with leasing activity totaling 160,000 SF across 11 deals, nearly double the volume of the 10-year historical average. However, continuing the trend of corporate rightsizing and flight to quality, most of these deals involved footprint reductions, which do little to improve occupancy levels