Ask Atlanta’s top commercial real estate veterans about the state of the local market and you’ll consistently hear something that sounds like this: We’re slowly emerging from the very deep sleep of the past four years.

Indeed, the southern metro is posting clear improvements. Atlanta’s office market witnessed positive absorption in the first quarter of 2012—the first time since the second quarter of 2011 and, before then, the second quarter of 2010. Meanwhile, Atlanta’s industrial market saw 1.6 million square feet of absorption. And, of course, multifamily is the darling as developers rush to put 2,000 new rentals on the market this year as vacancy falls to 7.1%, according to Marcus & Millichap.

“The commercial real estate market in Atlanta is improving, albeit more slowly than many would like,” says Michael Bull, president and founder of Bull Realty in Atlanta. “The market is still very fragmented; some sectors and submarkets are recovering much better than others.”

Strong leasing activity in several Atlanta submarkets has supported this slow but seemingly steady recovery. According to Grubb & Ellis, Central Perimeter, Buckhead, Midtown, Northeast/1-85 inside 1-285 and Norcross/Peachtree Corners all had positive net absorption in the first quarter. Overall, the vacancy rate is still over 20% for the market. But the real story is investor demand for class A office towers…

…For the rest of the story, please visit the June issue of Real Estate Forum.