Quick Summary on the Cincinnati Office Sector in 2022
The negative effects of the COVID pandemic and work from home policies slowed in 2022 as evidenced by these changes for the overall Cincinnati market:
- A small increase in office vacancy of .06% to 16.8% in 2022
- Negative absorption totaled 441,619 square feet in 2022 down from 557,913 square feet in 2021
- Sublease space declined to 1.6% (960,000 square feet) compared to 2.2% (1,337,000 square feet) in 2021
Submarkets most favored by Class A tenants remain healthy for landlords:
- Midtown Class A vacancy finished 2022 at 7%, the lowest vacancy rate of all major submarkets
- Kenwood’s vacancy increased from 9.9% in 2021 to 13.3% in 2022 but did not affect its rental rates which are the highest in the market
- I-75 North (West Chester) saw a steep decline in vacancy from 14.1 % in 2021 to 10.6% in 2022
The places of greatest weakness are likely years from returning to pre COVID conditions:
- I-71 North, Class A vacancy climbed to 31.4%, totaling 918,000 square feet
- Blue Ash vacancy ended the year at 22.8% with its Class A segment even higher at 24.8 % vacant
- Downtown Class A vacancy spiked to 17.2% with vacancy increasing in the older, second tier Class A buildings