County Office Market : Office Vacancy Rate Dips 0.5%

There were a couple of snippets of good news for office landlords in a recent survey by Coldwell Banker.

The firm’s second-quarter survey of county commercial real estate showed that the office vacancy rate declined slightly, to 21.5% from 22% in the first quarter, and the average asking monthly lease rate rose 9 cents, to $1.62 per square foot.

The vacancy rate has been above 20% since the 1986 first quarter, according to Coldwell Banker, which estimates a three-year supply of existing office space in the county.

The firm expects 3.6 million square feet of space to be added in 1989.

Net absorption of space in the recent quarter was 694,608 square feet, a 1% drop from the first quarter.

SECOND QUARTER OFFICE MARKET BY CITY

% Buildings Existing Total Vacancy Under Total City Buildings Sq Feet Rate Construction Sq Feet Anaheim 49 2,682,324 26.50 1 60,000 Brea/La Habra 22 1,687,035 24.22 -- -- Buena Park 11 652,504 51.59 -- -- Costa Mesa 38 4,411,051 24.97 2 200,000 Fountain Valley 14 735,939 17.24 -- -- Fullerton 16 923,385 9.07 -- -- Garden Grove 8 862,721 9.20 -- -- Huntington Beach 25 1,442,874 25.57 1 55,000 Irvine 76 4,457,532 23.89 13 1,333,132 Irvine Industrial 41 1,852,013 17.95 -- -- Los Alamitos 13 666,512 26.36 -- -- Mission Viejo 23 758,726 7.79 2 214,158 Newport Beach 61 2,948,937 17.96 11 347,022 Orange 47 5,095,873 22.15 -- -- Placentia 4 155,868 66.05 -- -- Santa Ana 78 5,604,748 22.75 4 143,490 Stanton 2 82,424 17.70 -- -- Tustin 32 820,358 17.57 -- -- Westminster 10 369,846 19.01 -- --

Source: Coldwell Banker