Direct vacancy (excluding sublease vacancy) in the Greater Cincinnati office market was 18.5% in Q1 2021, which was the highest level in more than two years. Vacancy increased by nearly 150 basis points (bps) on a year-over-year (YOY) basis, as the effects of COVID-19 were barely known in Q1 2020. In both the Central Business District (CBD) and Suburban submarkets, vacancy rates were higher in the Class B categories than in Class A. However, the amount of actual vacant square footage is significantly higher for Class A properties (3.5 million square feet) than Class B (2.7 million square feet). Direct vacancy grew significantly on a yearly basis and sublease vacancy followed suit with a 90 bps increase on a YOY basis. After a significant number of subleases were added across the market in Q4 2020, only three new subleases were listed in Greater Cincinnati in Q1 2021. When combined, overall vacancy (direct plus sublease vacancy) grew from 17.5% in Q1 2020 to 19.9% in Q1 2021.
Q1 2021 MarketBeat Report
