CoStar survey offers signs of hope

The industrial sector of the commercial real estate industry, desperate for any sliver of good news, can find some in a new survey from market research firm CoStar Group.

In fact, the firm reports that the sector “appears to be headed into recovery after several quarters of negative absorption.” If only the other sectors could be headed that way.

Two of the more salient points in the report — entitled CoStar's State of the Commercial Real Estate Industry Mid-Year 2010 Industrial Review & Outlook — involve vacancy and occupancy rates: For one, absorption of industrial buildings turned positive in the second quarter following six quarters of net loss.

Specifically, CoStar found that nationwide there was 13 million square feet of positive net absorption in the second quarter this year. South Florida was among the markets that posted one of the best turnarounds. “It has been a long time coming,” CoStar Director of Analytics Jay Spivey says in the report. “We think the outlook is good and we'll continue to see positive absorption.”

Not only that, but national industrial vacancy rates declined, albeit slightly, for the first time since mid-2008.