CHICAGO – Vacant storefronts across the metropolitan Chicago real estate market are starting to fill up in greater numbers, and rental rates for office space in the area are showing signs of bounce back after several years of decline, according to top commercial brokers with the Re/Max Northern Illinois real estate network.

Re/Max agents’ views on retail real estate confirm national trends, with new reports showing that the retail sector throughout the U.S. is in the early stages of what appears to be a steady but slow recovery.

“We are seeing many new businesses opening in our area,” said Al Vallejo, commercial division manager with Re/Max Synergy in Orland Park, in a news release. “And this is a trend that I think will continue.”