COMMERCIAL
A key indicator of activity in the office and industrial markets shot up in the third quarter, according to Voit Commercial Brokerage LP.
Commercial absorption totaled about 4 million square feet in the quarter, the highest it’s been since the second quarter of 2000.
Absorption measures how much space is taken off the market by leases and sales, versus how much is given back by companies vacating space.
More than a tyhird of the county’s commercial absorption was in the area around John Wayne Airport, according to Voit.
“Many of the businesses that left the airport area due to high pricing at the peak of the market in 2000 are returning to this area to occupy space while the pricing is still attractive,” said Jerry Holdner, vice president of market research for Voit.
Office and industrial construction is down from a year ago, with 458,310 square feet being built in the office sector and 565,468 square feet in the industrial sector, according to Voit.
As a result of both trends, vacancy figures are on the decline.
The county’s office vacancy rate has dipped to 10.5%, down from 14% a year ago, Holdner said.
Industrial vacancy was 4.8% at the end of the third quarter, down from 5.9% last year, he said.
The lower vacancies are giving landlords some bargaining power, according to brokers.
Big Speculative Play
Not all industrial development is small buildings for sale.
Newport Beach-based Investment Building Group recently started construction on a 114,500-square-foot industrial building at 1111 Bell Ave. in Tustin.
The building, huge by recent standards, should be done by March.
The six-acre site used to serve as a worker parking lot for furniture maker Steelcase Inc.
In 2002, Steelcase moved to a smaller facility in Industry. Voit Development Co. is redeveloping part of the former Steelcase site, while Investment Building has another portion.
Investment Building is looking to lease the building, or lease it with an option to buy.
Corona Move
Bio-International, a maker of nutrition bars, is moving from Anaheim to Corona.
Officials with Bio-International paid $1.7 million for an 18,810-square-foot building in Sampson Industrial Park, according to brokers with GVA Daum Commercial Real Estate.
Chris Migliori, executive vice president in the Anaheim office of GVA Daum, represented the buyers. He and Jim deRegt of Lee & Associates represented KDG Investments, the developer of the park.
Sampson Industrial Park features buildings ranging from 10,000 to 40,000 square feet. The project totals 163,000 square feet on 12.5 acres.
RESIDENTIAL
Los Angeles-based KB Home last month announced the hiring of David Hendryx as senior vice president of land acquisition in the company’s Irvine office.
Hendryx previously served as president of Newport Beach-based developer The Warmington Cos.
In his new job, Hendryx is set to scout the county for land, including potential spots in developed areas. He also plans to focus on Corona. Other KB divisions cover the rest of the Inland Empire.
The buyer profile in Corona is similar to OC, Hendryx said.
KB could be interested in bidding on El Toro in an alliance with other developers, he said.
KB is set to focus on pricier homes here, according to Hendryx. The company could have the cheapest new homes in an area, but they wouldn’t be considered entry-level, he said.
Entry-level buyers are “really being served by the resale market,” Hendryx said.
I agree with Hendryx that first-time homebuyers largely are priced out of the new home market. But it’s the first time I’ve heard a homebuilder say it openly.
KB has an eye toward doing upscale condominiums in developed areas here, Hendryx said.
Make It a Double
As if one patriotic blimp wasn’t enough, Orange-based Ameriquest Mortgage Co. now has two.
The nation’s largest subprime lender earlier this month launched Ameriquest Airship Liberty from a hanger in Elizabeth City, N.C.
The floating advertisement made its way to Yankee Stadium during the playoffs earlier this month.
In a statement, Ameriquest wasn’t beyond a little hot air itself, saying the blimp “will travel to local and nationally televised sporting events and other public celebrations serving as an airborne ambassador of the American ideals of liberty and the pursuit of excellence.”
Superman has nothing on this blimp.
The blimp measures 206 feet in length when aloft. It’s almost as large as a football field and requires a team of 22 licensed professionals to fly and manage, including captains, engineers, mechanics and ground handlers.
The airship can seat up to eight passengers plus the captain and the co-captain. Ameriquest plans to invite sports fans aboard.
The company has a sister blimp, dubbed Ameriquest Airship Freedom.
Ameriquest is making a drive into more mainstream mortgage lending and is investing heavily in sports marketing as part of that effort.
