Bradenton County office vacancy rate increasing
It is often said that the state of the office market reflects how the US economy as whole is bearing. Recently office vacancy rates have been increasing, with rents falling – painting very dismal picture. It has been so bad in the district of Bradenton, that one property owner has decided to close his ComCenters office complex. The owner said he had, had to do what many companies were doing – downsizing because of lack of demand.
Figures for the first quarter of this year show that Manatee Countys office space market is performing very poorly. The vacancy rate for the area is 13.2% according to local real estate companies. This is marginally higher than the rate for Q4 of 2008 which was 12.2%. However at the start of last year it was under 8%, showing just how much the market has fallen. The Comcenters complex, an example of a prominent office building in the area only ever acheived between 50 and 60 percent occupancy in the last two years, not making it a viable business option. Although this rate is high, the overall average vacancy rate for Tampa is even greater at 16.8%