Uncertain Diagnosis

If the trend line for medical office space were a heart monitor, it might be time to get the defibrillator paddles. Although the sector is struggling, it appears medical office space recently hit a peak in vacancy rates that have been rising during the past three years. And during that time, it has also outperformed other commercial real estate sectors in occupancy.

According to real estate research from the CoStar Group, the medical office space market along the Gulf Coast has seen vacancies steadily grow from 9.5% in the third quarter of 2008 to 12% for the most recent quarter.

Southwest Florida, which includes Charlotte, Collier and Lee counties, has seen vacancies rise from 11.5% to 14.5% for the same periods. Vacancies in the Tampa Bay market, which also includes Sarasota and Manatee counties, have climbed from below 8.8% to 10.2%.