Indianapolis office market shows rise in occupancy

Occupancy in the overall Indianapolis office market has improved slightly in the past year despite growing vacancies downtown, according to a report released Wednesday by real estate brokerage Cassidy Turley.

The overall vacancy rate dropped from 19.9 percent in the first quarter of 2013 to 19.1 percent in this year’s first quarter, the report said.

The improvement was sparked by growing occupancy in the suburban office market, where the vacancy rate fell from 20.3 percent to 18.2 percent.

The downtown vacancy rate jumped from 19.2 percent to 20.6 percent as companies took steps to shave space.

Average asking rates for office held steady overall, ticking up 2 cents, to $17.01 per square foot.

Suburban activity was led by the North/Carmel submarket, where the vacancy rate fell from 20.2 percent to 14.9 percent over the past year.

In the industrial market, the overall vacancy rate rose from 4.5 percent to 5.1 percent over the past year as inventory rose. Positive absorption was seen in all categories except office/showroom and modern bulk.

Vacancy rates were especially low in the manufacturing (3.2 percent) and medium distribution (4.9 percent) categories.