Vacancy Rate for Offices Drops to 8.84%

Orange County’s office vacancy rate was 15% lower in the third quarter than a year earlier, the CB Richard Ellis real estate firm said in a survey released Monday.

The vacancy rate was 8.84%, down from 10.39% in the third quarter of 1997 and from 9.15% in this year’s second quarter.

Average asking rental rates were up 12% year-to-year, and the average sale price per square foot was up 54%, CB Richard Ellis said. It predicted Orange County office vacancies will continue to drop and rents will rise by 14.1% in 1999, but sale prices will level off.

The market for manufacturing, warehouse and other industrial buildings was the busiest in five years, but availability increased slightly due to new construction. The survey said 7.1 million square feet of industrial space will be added in the county this year, up from 3.2 million square feet in 1997.