Columbus, OH/USA

COLUMBUS, OH – October 22, 2009 – The Columbus office market continued to feel the pinch of a troubled economy as direct vacancy rose nearly one-half percent to 14.75%, up from 14.28% at the close of the second quarter. The increase marks the third straight quarter that available space continued to grow. Sublease vacancy followed suit, climbing 23 basis points to end the quarter at 1.54%. After two quarters of Class A office space boasting vacancies under 12% in all four submarkets, only two continued the trend (Downtown/Central Business District at 11.92% and Northwest at 8.98%). Class A space continued to outperform Class B space. Only the CBD (14.43%) posted a vacancy rate under 20% for Class B office properties. Class B space had a more successful quarter as the overall market vacancy decreased 54 basis points to end at 18.43%. Even still, there is nearly 870,000 square feet more Class B space available in the Central Ohio market than Class A.

ABSORPTION
Class A office space recorded over 196,000 square feet of negative absorption. A majority of that, 103,000 square feet to be exact, was a result of the completion of The Offices at Westar IV. The 145,000 square foot building is currently 29 percent occupied. Class B space was the lone bright spot as it posted 86,000 square feet of positive absorption, with 69,000 square feet coming from the Downtown submarket alone. The Northwest and North submarkets contributed 86% of the negative absorption recorded. The third quarter negative absorption total of over 110,000 square feet stretched the amount of negative absorption bringing the year to date total to just under 300,000 square feet.

OUTLOOK/FORECAST
For the rest of 2009, CTMT expects available space to continue to accumulate as corporations shed employees and trim space to reduce operational costs. The few tenants in the market are choosing shorter term deals as they evaluate future business trends. Most are opting to remain in existing space rather than commit capital to relocation. Large investment grade office sales transactions will continue to be sluggish as lending sources are still hesitant to finance commercial office properties. Many large investment buyers are waiting on the sidelines until they feel risk has been sufficiently abated.

About Colliers Turley Martin Tucker

Colliers Turley Martin Tucker has consolidated its ownership structure with Cassidy & Pinkard Colliers, Colliers Pinkard, and Colliers ABR, forming a holding company that is one of the largest commercial real estate service firms in the U.S.  In 2008, the consolidated entity completed more than $9.2 billion in worldwide transactions, including over $3.5 billion in capital markets transactions, and managed more than 335 million square feet of real estate.  The Corporate Solutions division supports more than 22,000 locations for Fortune 1000 companies and delivers a new location “Every 80 Minutes.”  Colliers International is ranked as one of the 2009 World’s Top 100 outsourcing service providers by International Association of Outsourcing Professionals, IAOP Top 100.  For more information about Colliers International, a worldwide affiliation of independently owned and operated companies, visit www.colliers.com.

Contact Information

Wayne Henry
614.827.1724
WHenry@ctmt.com

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