Midwest

Lately, it has been quite challenging to pick up a newspaper, watch television or even view an online news source and not be inundated by sour economic events occurring throughout the world, as well as in the Greater Cleveland area. As we navigate our way through these uncertain times in the economy, and more specifically in the commercial real estate industry, owners and users of real estate will be faced with challenges as well as opportunities. The Cleveland industrial real estate market, which ranks as the ninth largest industrial market in the United States, remains healthy largely due to its conservative growth during the last decade. The Cleveland economy is comprised of a diverse range of businesses from many different sectors, making it less prone to volatile cycles common in other industrial-based regions. Our local industrial market, which consists of numerous submarkets, had a vacancy rate ranging from 8 to 10 percent throughout 2009. The average lease rate for industrial space was approximately $3.90 per square foot. Both of these indicators compare favorably to the U.S. average, which has slightly higher vacancy and lease rates. A major obstacle weighing on today’s real estate consumer in the Cleveland area is the …