The 2008 financial crisis hada substantial impact on Orange County. The market, which waslargely made up of financial services companies, was over exposedto the sub-prime mortgage crisis. This cycle, the market hasevolved and developed a more diverse group of industries, andtoday, the market has evolved to better handle the nextdownturn.

"Orange County was one of the hardest hit regions during theGreat Recession because of its over exposure to the subprimemortgage industry," JaredDienstag, research manager atJLL, tells GlobeSt.com. "Because it was hit sohard, Orange County was one of the later market's to recover. Thisclearly demonstrated the need for our economy to be more diverse.Not only does this encourage people with different talent andeducation to live and work here, but it also promotes localinnovation through research and development, venture capitalfunding, job growth, and helps build an ecosystem which encouragespeople to learn, develop, and stay in Orange County."

Housing is also a major difference between this cycle and thelast cycle. In the last cycle, Orange County was a largelysingle-family housing market, but this cycle a large multifamilysupply has entered the market. "A noticeable change to OrangeCounty is the growth in multi-family housing," says Dienstag. "Themarket realized that in order to attract young people to live andwork here, additional housing was needed. Since the time therecession ended, Orange County has added over 33,000 multi-familyunits with the largest supply being added in Irvine. This hasprovided more people the opportunity to live near where they workand cut down commute time, which everyone who lives in SouthernCalifornia can appreciate."