The third quarter figure stood at 900,000 sf or 60% of the total year-to-date net absorption, according to a new report by Burnham Real Estate Services. Thus far this year, 1.5 million sf have been absorbed in the county and given the pace of activity here, the industrial market is "on track to surpass last year's total net absorption of 1.6 million sf," says Tucker Hohenstein, a Burnham vice president. So it looks like San Diego's industrial market is already on the mend, well ahead of the national recover slated for mid-2003.

Lending further strength to the recovery is the fact that the majority of the county is not overbuilt. Although a few individual regions within San Diego County, such as Carlsbad, are experiencing high vacancy levels, the overall rate stands at 8.1%, which is the lowest figure reported since the start of the 1996 real estate recovery.

"Industrial vacancy overall has remained relatively stable, hovering in the mid-8% range for the past three years," says Charlie Adolphe, another Burnham vice president. And the market is expected to tighten over the next year, as only 1.3 million sf of new industrial space is currently underway.