Office vacancy rates continues to decline.(INDUSTRY DATA)

The national office vacancy rate declined 0.3% to 16.6% in the final quarter of last year, according to Property & Portfolio Research. Further declines of about 0.5-0.7% are expected in both 2006 and 2007, as the absorption of office space exceeds new supply in the early stage of the expansion of office construction.

The recent drop in vacancy rates was driven largely by tenants leasing for their anticipated space needs in the next few years, with a small contribution from an increase in jobs in office-based industries that caused immediate space needs. This business op