The vacancy rate and total vacant office square feet in Dekalb County have been steadily increasing for the majority of the century. There was a decrease of about 12% over a 5 year period between 2010 and 2015, but other than that the vacancy rate has increased. Though the rate has increased since the end of 2019, it hasn’t been nearly as sharp as it could have been. This once again leads me to believe that COVID-19 has not strongly impacted this area–at least not yet. It is likely that these vacancies will continue to rise, partly because that is the historic trend and partly because of the pandemic and subsequent closures. As with most of the real estate metrics analyzed in this project, keep an eye on these rates to see what the ultimate impact of Coronavirus is on office vacancies in Dekalb County.

The Dekalb County office sublet vacancy rate hit its peak in the third quarter of 2002. Since then, it has substantially decreased. There were a few increases in vacancies around the 2008 financial crisis and during 2013-2014. Overall, however, the rate has remained relatively consistent in its decrease. The office sublet vacancy rate has actually decreased since the end of 2019 and remained constant during the second and third quarters of 2020. This is unexpected as most of the other vacancy rates saw an increase in the beginning of 2020, even if it was just a slight one. It will be interesting to see whether the rate continues to decrease or remain constant or if COVID-19 will catch up to it and increase vacancies.

All data from CoStar Group