The brokerage firm reported that the county saw 5.2 million sf in leasing activity in 2000, an 18% increase from 1999. The county's office availability rate dropped 2.5 percentage points to 9.1%, the lowest level in recent memory, Insignia/ESG officials say.

"The strength of the local economy has had a tremendously beneficial effect on Fairfield County's office market over the past year, encouraging internal business expansion and relocation," says Dean Shapiro, executive director of Insignia/ESG's Westchester/Connecticut office.

"In the past 10 years we have seen the inventory of available space countywide shrink from nine million sf to four million sf and the availability rate plummet from over 22% to less than 10%," he notes. "Interestingly, much of this progress has been accomplished despite occasional setbacks caused by downsizings, bankruptcies and move outs."

Shapiro termed the outlook for Fairfield County as "bright" despite some concerns over a national economic slowdown. At year-end 2000, the average asking rent countywide stood at $29.36 per sf. Stamford office property rents now stand at $35.20 per sf, up $7.09 per sf from a year ago.

However, Insignia/ESG officials note that many properties in the downtown district are commanding rents of $40 to $50 per sf. In the same vein, although the western section of the county posted a year-end asking rent of $33.02 per sf, some Greenwich commercial locations have secured deals that have topped $70 per sf.