North Bay Office Market Back on Average

PETALUMA, CA-Marin County faces a glut of sublease office space, but most brokers insist the rise in vacancy rates here is a return to more normal conditions. Marin’s northern neighbor, Sonoma County, meanwhile continues on a growth trend.

According to a first-quarter report from Orion Partners Ltd., the Marin County market has softened but is still at the historic average vacancy rate of about 10 percent. After two years of vacancy rates below 6 percent, the rate jumped to 10.4 percent in the first quarter of 2001, up from year-end 2000 by 3 percent. The jump is due to a few dot-com busts and established companies like Fair Isaac and AutoDesk, Inc. putting space on the market.

In addition, more than 700,000 sf of new construction is set to come on the market this year and into 2002. New leases are being signed and some of the new construction is pre-leased such as the 120,000 sf leased to Greenpoint Mortgage at Wood Hollow Drive in Novato. The mortgage company will vacate 133,000 sf in Larkspur and San Rafael when the move into the new space happens.