Second Quarter 2011 Chicago Downtown Office Market Report

Downtown Chicago office market continues to exhibit slow, steady improvement during the second quarter

Reflecting a continued slow recovery in the broader economy, the downtown Chicago office market offered up some good news during the second quarter. The availability of direct and sublease space declined during the quarter, and a slight firming of demand helped push down both direct and sublease vacancies. Certainly the level of demand is not robust enough to drive up rental rates materially, but at the same time it is encouraging to see the slow improvement materialize as we recently forecasted. Still, the market remains out of balance favoring tenants as ample supply exists in virtually all downtown locations and across most tiers of space.