Voit: OC Flex Market Should Mimic 2013

IRVINE, CA—Flex space is on a growth trajectory in Orange County, according to a Q1 report from Voit Real Estate Services. While vacancy was up, absorption negative and transactions down from the previous quarter, lease rates rose 1 cent and are 2 cents higher than they were during first-quarter 2013, and deliveries have been flat, the firm reports.

Jerry Holdner, Jr., VP of market research for Voit and co-author of the report with market research analyst Tony Tran, tells GlobeSt.com the most notable trends shown by the report are “the amount of available space that is decreasing and how asking leases are trending upwards.  For example, the availability rate for flex space in the first quarter of 2012 was almost 23%, and now it’s below 16%, which has put upward pressure on asking lease rates. The low for asking lease rates was $1.66 per square foot on a full-service gross basis in the second quarter of 2013, and now it’s at $1.69 and we’re forecasting that they will continue to trend upward.”