The vacancy rate for office, industrial and retail property for lease in Bend dropped again in the third quarter, according to the quarterly survey by Compass Commercial Real Estate Services.

Available office space dropped from 11.44 percent in the second quarter to 11.37 percent in the third, according to Compass Points. That represents the lowest office vacancy rate since the first quarter 2008 and the 10th consecutive quarterly decline, Jennifer Ortado, Compass Commercial marketing manager, wrote in a news release accompanying the survey.

However, more than 10,000 square feet of office space opened in downtown Bend and along Third Street, according to the survey.

Citywide, the amount of retail space available to lease quarter over quarter fell from 8.58 percent to 8.05 percent. In downtown Bend, 2.4 percent of retail space is available for lease, the lowest in all retail markets in Bend, according to Compass Points. About 3,000 square feet became available downtown during the quarter.

Chuck Arnold, executive director of the Downtown Bend Business Association, said prospective store owners must be prepared when opportunities arise. The obstacles to entry are greater and the competition for space is steeper, he said.

“It is a challenge to find space right now,” Arnold said. “Whenever a space changes from one business moving on to another business coming in, there is a pretty quick turnover. The opportunity and window to do that is pretty small. Property owners are going to command an aggressive rate.”

The corridors along north and south U.S. Highway 97, however, were the strongest markets for retail space in the third quarter, according to Compass Points. Nearly 33,000 square feet was leased in those two areas during the quarter.

New businesses that opened or prepared to open during the third quarter included Jersey Mike’s Subs and Chicken Bonz, both on SW Century Drive; a second location for Jackson’s Corner at Neff Place on Bend’s east side and Hobby Lobby renovating space at the Bend River Promenade.

About 14,000 square feet of retail space became available to lease in the central U.S. Highway 97 area; the Old Mill District remained unchanged at 6.07 percent. The east side retail vacancy rate in Bend fell to 13.08 percent, Compass Points reported.

Industrial space available for lease fell to 328,144 square feet from 339,068 square feet in the second quarter, for an 8 percent vacancy rate, according to the survey.

In northeast Bend, more than 7,000 square feet became available.

Elsewhere in the city, more than 10,000 square feet of industrial space was leased in the third quarter, according to Compass Points. “This is the lowest vacancy we have experienced in years, and we are now in a range that we consider normal and healthy for our market,” according to the survey.

In Redmond, the industrial vacancy rate fell from 18.3 percent in the second quarter to 15.85 percent in the third.

— Reporter: 541-617-7815, jditzler@bendbulletin.com