Chicago commercial real estate

It is no secret that downtown Chicago commercial real estate is weaker today than it was a year or two ago. But the situation in the suburbs is worse, according to recent surveys.

MB Real Estate, a diversified real estate firm, said its analysis shows that the overall vacancy rate for downtown increased from about 11.7 percent in the final three months of 2007 to 12.3 percent in the first quarter of 2008. Those numbers, while not exhilarating, are certainly better than Chicago saw in the early 1990s when vacancies soared. But in the suburbs, MB Real Estate found, the vacancy rate rose from 16.1 percent in the last quarter of 2007 to 17.3 percent in the first quarter of this year.