The Office Market
The West Orange County market includes 78 office properties totaling approximately 4.5 million square feet, 6% of the total office market in Orange County. Due to its small size, the West Orange County market experiences greater fluctuations in vacancy and absorption than the other markets in the county, which are significantly larger. Activity in the West Orange County office market reversed its negative trend from the past two quarters of 1999 and ended the first quarter with a positive absorption of 32,832 square feet. The vacancy rate dropped in the first quarter to 10.61%, down from 11.34% at the end of 1999. The average asking lease rate for office space in the West Orange County area rose 6 cents in the first quarter to $1.73 per square foot per month. The current average rent is 11% higher than in the first quarter of last year.
The Industrial Market
The West Orange County industrial market is primarily made up of manufacturing and warehouse space. Research and development space accounts for 15% of the market in West Orange County. As of the first quarter, there were a total of 395,480 square feet under construction in the West Orange County industrial market, 61% of which was M & W; development. Due to the new construction in the market, availability rates for industrial product in West County rose to 7.80% in the first quarter from 7.57% at the end of last year, despite positive absorption figures. A total of 877,356 square feet of industrial space was leased or sold in the first quarter, a significant increase over the total activity in the final quarter of last year. The average asking lease rate for industrial space in West Orange County has been steadily decreasing over the past year, ending the first quarter at 54 cents per square foot per month, down 5 cents from the first quarter of 1999.
The Retail Market
Despite the fact that the West Orange County market area is the smallest sector of the retail market, it is the second-most dense market in terms of per capita shop space. Due to its small size, the West Orange County market experiences greater fluctuations in vacancy and absorption than the other markets in the county, which are significantly larger. In the first quarter, positive absorption of 85,386 square feet in West County brought the vacancy rate for the area down to 6.44%, significantly less than the 9.72% rate posted in the fourth quarter. The average asking lease rate for retail shop space in the West Orange County market improved as well in the first quarter, rising to $1.48 per square foot per month, an increase of 11 cents from the fourth quarter of 1999.
