Cassidy Turley: Central OH Office, Industrial Rebounds in '12

COLUMBUS, OH – The central Ohio office market rebounded in 2012 as industrial activity continued its slow pace of recovery, according to a new report from Cassidy Turley.

The “Annual Market Report 2013: Insight and Analysis of Central Ohio’s Commercial Real Estate Markets,” shows the effects that years of an uncertain political and economic climate has had on the office and industrial markets.    “The challenges of 2012 have been weathered and the Central Ohio commercial real estate market is poised to take advantage of opportunities that exist in our market today,” says Cassidy Turley Managing Principal Tom McGarity.   Despite question marks surrounding the presidential election and fiscal cliff, the office market still saw a healthy amount of buying and leasing activity in 2012, the report says.    The local economy and transaction volume continued to increase last year, the report says, with new office construction topping activity. Almost 1 million SF of office space was scheduled to begin construction, with varying completion dates.   Central Ohio’s inventory is spread across four major submarkets: the Downtown/Central Business District and the three suburban submarkets in the Northwest, North and Northeast.    Investment sales in 2012 saw increased action in the early stages of the year but quieted in the second and third quarters while recovering in the fourth.   After a stellar 2011 in which all four submarkets closed out the year with positive net absorption, 2012 provided a solid follow-up as the year cosed out with 299,584 SF of positive net absorption.