Commercial property vacancy rates in the United States may have peaked, and the multifamily rental market is leading the way toward higher occupancy, Bloomberg reported.

The National Association of Realtors (NAR) said Monday that the vacancy rate for apartment buildings is expected to decline to 5.8 percent by the end of 2011, from 6.4 percent in the current quarter.

Apartment rents may increase 1 percent to 2 percent next year, the NAR said.

The forecast comes on the heels of a U.S. Department of Commerce report last week that said the gross domestic product grew at a 2.5 percent annual rate in the third quarter.

“The basic fundamental of rising commercial leasing demand, resulting from a steadily improving economy, means overall vacancy rates have already peaked or will soon top out,” said Lawrence Yun, the NAR’s chief economist.

“Multifamily housing is the one commercial sector that has held on relatively well in the past year and can expect the best performance in 2011,” he said.

The real estate group also predicts that office vacancy rates will fall to 16.4 percent at the end of next year from 16.7 percent in the fourth quarter of 2010. Industrial vacancies could drop to 13.2 percent from 13.9 percent.

Occupancies in the retail sector are expected to see the smallest improvement.

According to the NAR, retail vacancies may dip slightly to 13 percent at the end of 2011 from 13.1 percent this quarter.