Overall the Chicago Office market had a positive net absorption of 2,398,767 square feet in the fourth quarter of 2015. There were some big tenants that created large blocks of space: AT&T (368,000 SF), Solo Cup Company (126,713 SF) and Panasonic USA (126,284 SF)
The vacancy rate decreased to 13.1% from 13.5% in the third quarter 2015 and 13.9% at the end of the first quarter of 2015. With the reduction of vacancy the rental rate had increased by 1.3% from the third quarter to the fourth quarter ending at an average $23.28 per square foot. The suburban market ended 2015 with an average $19.35 per square foot rental rate up from $18.92 per square foot in the third quarter.
Cap Rates in 2015 averaged 7.10% compared to in 2014 the Cap rate averaged 7.67%.
Submarket
East-West Tollway
North Suburban
Northwest Suburbs
O'Hare
South Suburbs
West Cook
TOTAL
Gross Bldg SF
40,887,587
22,034,553
26,956,204
13,252,102
2,453,729
1,098,104
106,682,279
Vacancy Rate
18.3%
17.6%
20.8%
15.9%
23.3%
30.8%
18.4%
Average Asking Gross PSF
$21.79
$24.27
$20.20
$24.01
$15.43
$19.67
$21.92
2015 Ended With Lower Vacancy and Higher Rental Rates