Nationally, commercial markets took a dip in the last quarter of 2000, according to the report. But the NAR expects general improvement in the second half of this year.

San Diego joins Boston, Austin, San Jose and Orange County among markets expected to post the biggest rent growth in 2001. Nationally, the association predicted "positive but moderating" office demand, with vacancy factors expecting to rise to 10.8%. Rents, adjusted for inflation, will grow at a national average of 3.8%.

The report belies a dismal assessment of the county's office market based on first-quarter absorption rates. Office leasing plummeted to just 62,200 sf in the first three months, with many tenants postponing expansion plans in light of an unsettled stock market and concern over the California energy crisis, according to a report released late last month by Burnham Real Estate Services.

However, the report by San Diego-based Burnham noted that the office market remains in balance, with a vacancy rate of just 7.4%—-up only slightly from 6.5% at the end of 2000—and suggests the slowdown is likely to be temporary.

The newer association report also ranked San Diego among Austin, San Jose, Northern New Jersey and the East San Francisco Bay Area as the hottest multifamily markets of the year. Nationally, some 42,000 net units were absorbed in the fourth quarter, while new construction and average rents remained brisk.