Downtown Stamford as seen from a platform at the Stamford Transportation Center. (Courtesy Photo / Public Domain / DBen)

Fairfield County’s office market had the worst second quarter performance in the U.S., according to a new report by real estate researchers REIS Inc.

New York-based REIS said the Fairfield County vacancy rate rose 1.1 percent to 22.5 percent, the biggest uptick out of the 79 metro areas tracked by the company.

Nationwide, the vacancy rate rose 0.1 percent to 16.8 percent in the quarter, while asking and effective rents increased 0.6 percent. 

Despite the continuing nationwide economic expansion, the office market continues to move “at a sluggish pace,” REIS Chief Economist Victor Calanog said in a statement. Automation and offshoring are tempering demand for office space, the report said, and the gap between strong coastal markets with a heavy tech industry presence and weaker markets continues to grow.

Fairfield County’s vacancy rate ranks 71st nationwide. Hartford ranked 42nd nationwide with a 17.7 percent vacancy rate, and New Haven ranked 57th at 19.5 percent.

New York had the lowest vacancy rate at 8.1 percent, edging San Francisco and Seattle. Dayton, Ohio has the nation’s highest office vacancy rate of 29.2 percent.

Stamford real estate observers expect more office space to be converted to medical, educational and housings uses in the year ahead.