The Milwaukee area’s industrial space vacancy rate dipped slightly to 7.4 percent at the end of the first quarter of 2008, down from 7.6 percent at the end of the first quarter in 2007, according to a recent report from Boston-based Colliers International. The company’s local affiliate is Milwaukee-based Colliers Barry.
The Milwaukee area’s industrial real estate market is faring better than the national market, according to the Colliers report. The nation’s industrial space vacancy rate increased from 7.9 percent at the end of the first quarter in 2007 to 8.13 percent at the end of the first quarter this year.
"The good news is that the southeastern Wisconsin market has held its own and even seen a slight decrease in the vacancy rate," said James T. Barry III, president and chief executive officer of Colliers Barry. "We are still seeing an increasing price-per-square-foot in the sale of industrial buildings in metro Milwaukee, but lease rates remain relatively stagnant – particularly in Class A industrial. Our hope is that the U.S. will be in a recovery cycle in the second half of 2008 and that this will portend well for Milwaukee."
