That's just one of the salient points of a study by Irvine,CA-based Sperry Van Ness, whose report on the "Top 10 OfficeMarkets To Watch" includes some cities that are household words tocommercial real estate investors, but other cities that aren't on alot of radar screens. The markets on the Sperry Van Ness list areAustin, TX, Central New Jersey, Charlotte, NC, Columbia andGreenville, SC, Houston, Little Rock, AR, New York City and SanFrancisco and San Jose, CA.

John McDermott, Sperry Van Ness' senior vice president ofbusiness development and national director of office and industrialproperties, tells GlobeSt.com that the company has an advantage inanalyzing some of the smaller cities that are listed in this year'sreport. He explains "we have probably 100 of our offices insecondary and tertiary markets as opposed to the main CBDs."

In compiling its list of the markets it considers mostpromising, Sperry Van Ness looks at job growth, real estate values,price per sf and other data. And then, McDermott says, "we askourselves that good old-fashioned question, 'Would I spend my moneyhere?'"