Office vacancy rate in Greater Baltimore inches up

Posted: 5:02 pm Mon, April 5, 2010
By Staff and Wire Reports

The Baltimore area’s office vacancy rate rose to 14.5 percent during the first three months of the year, up from 12 percent a year ago, according to a report released by Delta Associates, a Virginia-based commercial real estate research firm.

Rents continued to decline, but at a slower pace — 2.7 percent in the most recent quarter, compared with a drop of 5.2 percent in the year-ago period.

While the outlook is for sluggish conditions in the near term, the report said the Baltimore area should stabilize quicker than many other metropolitan areas, due to an expanding health care industry and the impact of the Base Realignment and Closure process that is bringing in new tenants.