Springfield-area vacancies fall in 4Q

Springfield-area vacancy rates fell across the board during the fourth quarter, according to the commercial real estate tracker Xceligent's look at the local industrial, office and retail sectors.

The Market Trends report, released today and certified by local board members, covers Springfield, Strafford, Rogersville, Ozark, Nixa, Republic and Willard.

Industrial
The industrial vacancy rate in the area decreased to 5.1 percent after registering at 6.7 percent in the fourth quarter of 2012, according to the Xceligent report. That compares to a national average vacancy rate of 9.2 percent, according to information from the National Association of Realtors.

Of the 31.5 million square feet of inventory in the local industrial sector, 1.6 million was vacant and 2.2 million was available in the fourth quarter.

During 2013, the industrial industrial absorbed 511,000 square feet locally, with northeast Springfield - 133,665 absorbed - and Nixa - 129,004 absorbed - making the largest impacts, Xceligent reports.

Among positive movements was more than 35,000 square feet of space occupied by Choice Baseball in Nixa.

Office
The vacancy rate in the area office sector dropped to 9.7 percent for the three months ended Dec. 31, compared to 10.4 percent in the same quarter of 2012. The national average vacancy rate totaled 15.6 percent.

Xceligent reports 623,177 square feet of the 6.3 million square feet of inventory in the market was vacant during the fourth quarter, while 779,859 square feet was available.

Office occupants absorbed 44,000 square feet during 2013, with 6,292 square feet in the fourth quarter.

Retail
The retail vacancy rate in the area fell to 4.6 percent from 5.3 percent in fourth-quarter 2012, according to Xceligent. The national average was 10.4 percent, according to the National Association of Realtors.

Of the 16.8 million square feet of inventory in the market, 767,312 square feet was vacant and 957,613 was available during the fourth quarter.

During the quarter, 47,473 square feet was absorbed in the market, according to Xceligent.