The Westport office vacancy rate as of Jan. 1 stands at 15.2 percent, the same level as seen in July 2004, according to Ted Hampe, chairman of Westport’s HK Group.
HK Group tracks some 172 office buildings, with square footage totaling 2,620,000 SF of which 397,000 SF were vacant on Jan. 1.
An additional 35,000SF were being offered for sub-lease or future direct lease, reflecting planned tenant moves, the company said.
Therefore, the office availability rate was 16.5 percent on Jan. 1, a slight improvement versus last July.
Recent Westport availability and vacancy trends are summarized below:
Available Vacant
January 2001 2.4% 2.2%
January 2002 13.9% 8.9%
January 2003 17.6% 16.8%
January 2004 17.5% 16.8%
July 2004 17.3% 15.2%
January 2005 16.5% 15.2%
The Westport office leasing market has been quite stagnant over the last six months,” said Hampe.
ӓWestport vacancy levels are a bit below the Fairfield County average and the improving economy should begin to increase leasing results during 2005.”
