Commercial Real Estate Lags, But Some Hope for Connecticut

The National Association of Realtors says a lack of new jobs and tight lending from the banks have kept vacancy rates of commercial building above the historical averages since 1999.

“Job creation in the second quarter was about half of what we saw in the first quarter, which is moderating demand in the office sector,” said. Lawrence Yun, chief economist for the National Association of Realtors. “Industrial and warehouse space is holding on better because imports and exports have advanced.”

Despite the lagging recovery, Fairfield County has the second-lowest vacancy rate for retail buildings in the nation at 3.9 percent. The national average in the past decade is 8.1 percent.  

New Haven County has the third-lowest multi-family residential vacancy rate at 2.4 percent. Nationally, the historic average is 5.8 percent.

Still, the National Association of Realtors warn that the situation could get worse in the future.

"Commercial real estate gains could be thwarted if lending from small and community banks dry up from excessive regulatory compliance costs, and if international big-bank capital rules are applied to smaller lending institutions,” Yun said.

The report didn’t look at homes, but in June, Connecticut home prices increased .4 percent