For example, the sales of restaurants have slowed by 47% thisyear, but the median price for them has increased by 6% to $445 persquare foot in the latest survey. The report compares and contrastssingle-tenant and multi-tenant properties, noting that as 1031exchange buyers have taken a less active role, single-tenant retailsales activity has fallen by 18% over the last year.

On the multi-tenant side, a gap remains between the wishes ofsellers and the expectations of buyers—a situation that applies inother property sectors as well. The number of multi-tenanttransactions has plunged by 73% in the county over the past 12months, a percentage that fairly matches the dropoffs intransaction velocity across all property types, as reported by anumber of research firms that track property sales nationally andworldwide. But prices for the county's multi-tenant assets "areedging higher as more high-quality assets trade," the Marcus &Millichap report points out. During the last year, the median pricehas risen 6% to $301 per square foot.

Despite the influences of a slowing US economy and the uncertaincredit markets, the long-term outlook for Orange County hasinvestors and developers looking ahead to a time when they candevelop on the relatively small amount of land available forconstruction in the county. The report points out that city-ownedland along AvenidaVista Hermosa in San Clemente could be the siteof a new 105,000-square-foot Target store. And in Buena Park,"Investors may want to explore opportunities for retail propertiesnear the new Metrolink station," the report says.