NEWPORT BEACH, CA-Industrial space is becoming more and more difficult to find in Orange County. In fact, the region boasts the lowest industrial vacancy rate in the country and has continued to tighten from a year ago, experts report.

According to Cushman & Wakefield, Orange County's vacancy rate for third-quarter 2013 was 4.4%, a decrease of .8% from a year ago. Other markets in the top 10 for lowest industrial vacancy were Greater Los Angeles; Lakeland, FL; Denver; San Francisco Peninsula, CA: St. Petersburg/Clearwater, FL; Oakland, CA; Philadelphia; Inland Empire, CA; and Tampa, FL.

Nationally, C&W reports that the industrial sector as a whole was quite strong in the third quarter, with leasing, demand and construction activity high throughout the country. “Pent-up consumer demand for housing, automobiles, appliances and other less durable goods have translated to increased spending in 2013,” says John Morris, leader of industrial services for the Americas at C&W. “As corporations respond, we have seen a jump in demand, especially for distribution space. With the continued e-commerce boom, online retailers have become the fastest-growing segment of warehouse occupiers. At the same time, traditional brick-and-mortar retailers continue to drive demand as well, with companies like Walmart and Home Depot among the most active.”

Voit Real Estate Services reports that unoccupied direct/sublease space finished the quarter at 4.42%, one of the lowest figures seen since the first quarter of 2009 and a decrease of .9% when compared to the third quarter of 2012. The South County submarket presented the lowest vacancy rate in the county at 3.2%. Voit is forecasting that vacancy will continue its downward trend in 2013, ending the year at around 4.2%.

Overall, industrial vacancy appears to have stabilized in the county, according to Voit, while the amount of availability has dramatically decreased. A lack of product available for lease and sale in many size ranges—particularly anything below 100,000 square feet—is causing an increase in prices and a drop in transaction volume.

Still, cautious optimism continues to prevail, since job creation will need to continue in order to drive the demand needed to sustain growth in the Orange County industrial market. As GlobeSt.com reported earlier this month, Mark Read, executive managing director overseeing Voit's Irvine, Los Angeles, and Inland Empire operations, says that Q4 is likely to bring positive job growth and rent growth—a trend that is apt to stick around for the next three years.