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Sector Portrait
Commercial Real Estate in Florida: What's HOT and What's NOT
Orlando/Central Florida
Conditions favor office tenants, with favorable lease rates and concessions still available. [Photo: Richard Given, CBRE] |
Still struggling: Orlando's office sector is still very much a tenant's market, with concessions available in addition to softened lease rates. According to CB Richard Ellis, downtown Orlando has seen some absorption and has the second-worst vacancy of downtown Florida markets, standing at 18.2%. However, in the industrial sector, Orlando's vacancy is the worst in the state, which includes more than 1.1 million square feet of sublease space.
Jacksonville/Northeast Florida
St. Johns Town Center, Jacksonville [Photo: Simon Property Group] |
Still struggling: Jacksonville's office market is considered one of the weakest large markets in the state, with vacancy above 20% for the ninth quarter in a row. Demand for downtown space shrank when CSX cut its space by 20% in the second quarter of 2011. Richey says the vacancy rate has been tied to lack of demand, rather than construction and oversupply. He believes the market will be stuck in neutral for at least another year with no new commercial buildings until occupancy rates rise.