Just one week after Blackberries around the world stopped working, a new report by Colliers International suggests Research in Motion is one of the reasons work spaces around Waterloo Region are vacant.
The report says the region saw strong leasing activity in the early part of 2010, but Colliers International says office developers are now a bit more hesitant to commit.
"What's happening to them is causing some concerns. It's not big trouble, but on the horizon, people are starting to wonder" says Colliers managing director, Karl Innanen.
Innanen says uncertainty over the tech giant and the condition of global markets is causing office vacancy rates to creep upwards.
In the past six months, office vacancy rose to just over 12 percent. Waterloo has the lowest of the tri-cities at a little over nine percent.
Innanen insists the numbers should not be interpreted as doom and gloom and adds that vacancies can help give new companies a shot at the market.
"They're also getting the opportunity to get some skilled labour force. People leaving RIM have now been going to technology and other R&D companies."
Real Estate Agent, Benjamin Bach says for the most part, the report mirrors what he sees in the field, but says there are still some large office development projects going ahead without tenants. He adds some businesses are looking to expand.
"We're working with a couple of tenants right now that were previously leasing space. Where they're now taking a look at developing a much larger space where they're going to be an owner in it. And it's because they really believe in the long-term economic health of this region."
The report also says Cambridge is leading the way in terms of the industrial market, while much of Waterloo's industrial buildings have been or will be converted to office space.
