Insignia/ESG reports the overall availability rate for FairfieldCounty stands at just 8.04% at the end of the third quarter 2000,down from 11.19% a year ago. A closer look at the numbers indicatesthat Downtown Stamford has 3.92% of class A space available. Theclass B availability rate of 18.69% pushed the Stamford overallavailability rate to 5.53%--still a very low number. No wonderthree property owners are currently marketing massive build-to-suitventures in Downtown Stamford. The town of Greenwich also posted alow availability rate, just 6.43%.

In terms of asking rents, while the overall county rate stood at$27.63 per sf, the average asking rent in Greenwich was $40.61 andin the central business district of Stamford the rate stands at$33.51 per sf. However, Insignia/ESG officials say that at someproperties in Stamford and Greenwich, owners are demanding andgetting significantly higher rental rates due to the strong demandand tight market for class A space.