Vacancies in the office, industrial and retail sectors decreased during the first quarter, according to commercial real estate tracker Xceligent's Market Trends report.
Released yesterday, the report looks at positive and negative movement in Springfield, Strafford, Rogersville, Ozark, Nixa, Republic and Willard.
Office The vacancy rate in the office sector fell to 9.4 percent in the fourth quarter, compared to 10.5 percent in the same quarter of 2013. Comparatively, the national average vacancy rate in the office sector was 15.8 percent during the first quarter, as reported by the National Association of Realtors.
Of the 6.3 million square feet available in the area, 594,312 square feet was vacant during the quarter and 731,692 square feet was available, according to the report.
The industry absorbed 18,209 square feet during the first quarter, marking the fourth consecutive quarter of positive absorption in the office sector.
Among first-quarter movement was engineering firm Malone Finkle Eckhardt & Collins Inc.'s lease of roughly 6,800 square feet at 3333 E. Battlefield Road, according to Xceligent.
Industrial The industrial vacancy rate improved to 5.2 percent during the first quarter, down from 5.9 percent in the same quarter a year earlier. The national average was 9 percent.
Within the local sector, 1.6 million of the total 31.6 million square feet of inventory was vacant, while 2.2 million square feet of space was available, according to the report.
For the second straight quarter, the local industrial sector had a negative absorption rate. During the first quarter, the industry recorded a negative absorption of 30,000 square feet.
The largest positive change in occupancy, according to Xceligent, was 49,000 square feet of warehouse/distribution space occupied by Bass Pro Shops at 2726 E. Jean St. in northeast Springfield. Tank Components Industries fully vacated 42,400 square feet at 4520 W. Kearney St. during the quarter. As part of expansion plans, the manufacturer moved into a new 81,000-square-foot facility in Partnership Industrial Center West last year.
Retail The local retail industry's vacancy rate decreased slightly to 5.1 percent from 5.2 percent in first-quarter 2013, according to the report. The national average came in at 10.2 percent during the quarter.
Of the 16.8 million square feet of retail space inventory in the area, 855,838 square feet was vacant during the quarter and 1 million square feet was available.
Locally, the first quarter saw nearly 87,000 square feet of negative absorption in the retail industry, with over half of that occurring in general retail, according to Xceligent.
The report pointed to nearly 9,600 square feet occupied in Plaza Shopping Center in east-central Springfield, as well as 11,400 square feet vacated in Kansas Square in the southwest corner of the city.
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