Third-quarter statistics from Voit Commercial Brokerage showedthe county's office market posting 361,184 sf of negative netabsorption in the third quarter, while CB Richard Ellis reportednegative net of 392,000 sf. Voit lists the direct vacancy rate at14.85%, including both direct and sublease space that's empty,compared with last year's third-quarter rate of 10.53%; CBREcalculates the vacancy rate at 15.4%.

The two firms come in very close on the overall availability ofspace, too. Voit pegs it at 20.95% for the third quarter, up from15.11% in the third quarter of last year, while CBRE figures it at20.6%. The figures vary slightly because the two firms trackdifferent inventories, with Voit listing nearly 108 million sf ofoffice space in the county and CBRE tracking about 100 millionsf.

Despite the minor differences in their statistics, the quarterlysurveys by the two firms show the same general trends and cite thesame factors for the weak performance in what was once one of thebest-performing office markets in the country. "The negativeabsorption can be attributed to the credit crunch and financecompanies consolidating," says the Voit report, authored by JerryHoldner, vice president of market research.