Have you ever wondered how office space leasing varies from country to country. Are the standards for lease term and rental rates calculations the same in London, Paris, Sydney or Moscow as they are in New York, Chicago or Los Angeles? How about options to renew. What are the standard guidelines in each country? As an example, Greece has a standard of a 12 year lease, but there is an escape clause after 2 years...

If you have ever been curious bout how different countries lease office space, Colliers International has published their 2010 Worldwide Office Leasing Guidelines that reviews how office leasing is done in 58 different countries and is available for download.

According to a report by the real estate firm Studley, Chicago’s downtown office lease transactions are only about one-half of what its historical long term average has been. Completed office space transactions reached 1.1 million square feet in the 2nd quarter and 7.2 million over the past 12 months leaving the Class A vacancy rate in the Chicago CBD at 18.5%. With a market size of 120 million square feet of office space in the Chicago, Downtown area, this transaction rate is close to a complete stall.

Tenants are still slow to make decisions and transactions are taking longer to complete.  There are a number of larger tenants in the market now who will have to make a decision within the next several months as to what to do with their expiring office leases. The gap between landlord and tenant expectations are narrowing and deals are becoming easier to make.  As the economy picks up, these tenants will be making decisions and hopefully Chicago Office Space will see some better activity.

With office space vacancy rates at recent time highs, office rental rates down as much as 30% in many office markets and no bottom found in the woes for office building owners, now is a great time to renegotiate your lease. Even if you have 2 or more years left on your current office lease you may be surprised at the willingness of landlords to renegotiate. It is not a market specific phenomena, but one that is nationwide. It doesn't matter if you lease office space in Manhattan, Chicago, Houston, Denver, Los Angeles or even small markets such as Fresno, Raleigh or Rochester. Every office space market has been affected.   Many office building owners are having financial difficulties not only on the occupancy side, but also on the mortgage side. If a landlord has a refinance coming due, you may find yourself in a great position to blend and extend.  What this means is that you would extend your office space lease for another 3 to 5 years at a lower rate in order for the landlord to show to their office building lender that they have long term office space tenants.  No office building owner will agree to reducing a financially strong tenant's rent, unless the restructured agreement provides them with some sort of economic benefit. In this case while you are paying less rent, it turns out to be a win-win situation since your new lease will help in the refinance process for the office building owner.

How do you get this process started?
The best way is to contact your Local OfficeFinder Office Tenant representative. Office Tenant Representative services won’t cost you anything and they are professionals at negotiating office leases. OfficeFinder Office Tenant Reps average over 12 years of experience and many have advance designations earned though demonstrating their skills and knowledge. It is a no lose proposition for you. Give them a try. There is no obligation.

January 8, 2010 WSJ - The office market in Washington, D.C., is poised to topple New York as the nation's most expensive, reflecting the declining fortunes of the nation's financial center and the government expansion under way in the U.S. capital.

Rents declined in almost all of the 79 American cities tracked by Reis Inc., a New York based-research firm, in the fourth quarter of 2009. The largest fall was in New York, where average effective rents -- or the net amount tenants pay after landlord concessions -- fell nearly 20% to $44.69 per square foot annually. It was the sharpest decline in rents ever recorded by Reis since it began compiling data in 1981.

By contrast, average rents in Washington were $41.77 per square foot, down 3% annually. Reis estimates that by the end of this year, rents in New York will come down to around $41.07, slightly below their estimates for Washington of $41.27.

Entire Article

Federal Reserve Beige Book Summary
"Reports on commercial real estate markets indicated that demand for space remained weak and that construction continued to decline in all Districts. Atlanta, Philadelphia, Richmond, and San Francisco reported that vacancy rates increased, while rates held steady in the Boston and Kansas City Districts and were mixed in New York. Boston, Dallas, Kansas City, Philadelphia, and Richmond commented that the demand for space remained weak. Commercial rents declined according to Boston, Chicago, New York, Philadelphia, and Richmond. Rent concessions were reported in the Richmond and San Francisco markets, and Richmond noted that some landlords had postponed property improvements in an effort to conserve cash. Construction remained at very low levels, with modest improvements noted in public construction in the Chicago, Cleveland, and Minneapolis Districts."

OfficeFinder does not expect much improvement in occupancy until the employment figures turn very positive and positive office absorption can take place again.  We are hoping to see some improvements by the middle of 2011.

If you need an office space, it’s as easy to find as your keyboard and mouse!
For more information, visit www.OfficeFinder.com.