CB Bullish on Westchester, Fairfield Markets

The brokerage firm, in separate market reports on Westchester and Fairfield counties, noted that both economies showed signs of continued improvement. The office availability rate in Fairfield County dropped two-and-a-half percentage points in the past 12 months to 15.11% at the end of Q3 2006. In Westchester County, a total of 959,000 sf of space was leased in the third quarter of this year, the highest level of any quarter in the past four years. The intense leasing activity helped to offset a number of large corporate space givebacks of late. The office availability rate for Westchester County in Q3 2006 was 14.75%, up slightly from the 14.61% registered a year previous.

The top performer in Westchester in the third quarter was the City of White Plains, which accounted for 37% of all lease deals closed countywide in the third quarter, CBRE officials say. So far this year, more than 529,000 sf in leases have been negotiated in Downtown White Plains.

"The market turned a corner during the third quarter, as rents spiked in the White Plains CBD," says Robert Caruso, managing director of CBRE's Westchester/Fairfield office. "For the first time, prime buildings in the CBD will achieve rents in excess of $35 per sf."

The City of Stamford continued its recovery in the third quarter of 2006 with its office availability rate falling an impressive four-and-a-half percentage points to 16.5%. The brokerage firm relates that a majority of the leasing activity (509,000 sf in Q3 2006) was orchestrated by financial services firms. Leasing volume in Stamford accounted for 36% of all activity in Fairfield County in that three-month period.

Commenting on the Fairfield County market Caruso says, "The health of Fairfield County's leasing market continues, as blue-chip tenants are renewing and expanding, while financial services firms are taking the majority of space in Lower Fairfield County."