DENVER-The direct industrial vacancy rate mid-year stands at 9.1%, while the overall vacancy rate is 9.8%, according to a Trammell Crow report. Another way to look at it: of the 188.59 million sf in the entire market, 17.18 million sf is directly available, while another 1.37 million sf in sublease space is available.

The report shows that the highest direct and overall vacancy rates are found in the relatively small Aurora market. In that 6.4-million-sf submarket, there's a 16.2% direct vacancy rate and a 16.5% overall vacancy rate. In the first quarter, that market showed a negative net absorption of 2,911 sf. That market may be poised to show positive absorption, as the amount of negative absorption is slowing substantially. It has had 28,433 sf of negative absorption in the first six months of the year.

The largest submarket, Montbello/Interstate 70 corridor, with 54 million sf, shows a vacancy rate below the average overall rate. The Montbello/I-70 corridor is showing a direct vacancy rate of 8.6%. However, when the 636,297 sf of sublease space is added, the overall vacancy rate rises to 9.8%.

The lowest vacancy rate is found in the 12.38-million-sf South Central submarket. There, 452,576 sf is vacant, for a direct vacancy rate of 3.7%. There is no sublease space available in that market, so the overall vacancy rate is also 3.7%. The South Central Market absorbed 97,215 sf in the second quarter, which is a turn around from negative absorption in previous quarters. Year-to-date, it has absorbed 55,362 sf.

Indeed, net absorption was far stronger in the second quarter than for the entire year, a sign that the industrial market is strengthening with the rebounding economy. In the second quarter, Trammell Crow reports 1.68 million sf of positive net absorption, which is 58.76% higher than the 1.06 million sf of positive absorption for the first six months of 2005.