Office and industrial vacancies rise in Milwaukee area

Vacancy rates for office space and industrial space rose in the Milwaukee area during the fourth quarter, according to new reports by Boston-based Colliers International, whose local affiliate is Colliers Barry.
The office space vacancy rate in downtown Milwaukee rose from 19.5 percent in the third quarter to 20.4 percent in the fourth quarter, according to the report.
The vacancy rate for class A office space in downtown Milwaukee rose from 12.9 percent in the third quarter to 13.1 percent in the fourth quarter.
Milwaukee’s downtown office space vacancy rate is significantly higher than the national average of 14.17 percent, but downtown Milwaukee’s class A office space vacancy rate is only slightly higher than the national downtown class A office space vacancy rate of 12.98 percent.
In suburban Milwaukee, the office space vacancy rate rose from 18.1 percent in the third quarter to 19.0 percent in the fourth quarter. The area’s suburban class A office space vacancy rate rose from 16.1 percent in the third quarter to 16.7 percent in the fourth quarter.
Nationally the suburban office space vacancy rate is 16.58 percent and the class A suburban office space vacancy rate is 17.39 percent, according to Colliers.
The Milwaukee area’s industrial space vacancy rate rose a bit from 7.8 percent in the third quarter to 8.0 percent in the fourth quarter, but is still considerably lower than the national average of 10.92 percent, according to Colliers International.