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

Fairfield County office tenants are looking to economize by taking smaller office spaces, according to a new report from Cushman & Wakefield’s Connecticut office.

The average transaction size in 2018 fell approximately 17.1 percent below the five-year average of 10,218 square feet to 8,475 square feet, the agency reported.

The change comes as the market as a whole has seen its office vacancy rate rise to 25.3 percent. Stamford saw the biggest jump to 31.8 percent, Cushman & Wakefield reported, largely due to GE Energy’s departure from its Long Ridge Road offices. Greenwich office space, by contrast, saw a 16.5 percent decrease driven by strong demand for downtown space.

Overall average asking rents in Fairfield County continued to inch lower in 2018, declining by $0.53 per square foot to $32.47. Stamford’s overall average asking rent ticked upward in 2018 by $1.42 per square foot to $37.21.

Despite having a 31.8 percent vacancy rate, nearly one of every three new lease transactions in 2018 occurred in Stamford, which accounted for 50.4 percent of Fairfield County’s overall leasing. Some Stamford landlords are seeking to compensate for the high vacancy rate by converting their buildings to residential uses.