Office Market Continues Upward Trend

ORANGE COUNTY-Absorption continued for the third straight quarter in the county’s office market, although demand remained weak and rental rates continued to decline. Newly issued reports from Colliers International (289,800 square feet), CB Richard Ellis (690,000 square feet) and Voit Real Estate Services (376,906 square feet) all showed positive absorption, marking at least the third straight quarter of positive absorption reported by all three.

The improvement in the county’s office market is part of overall progress in the US office market, which recorded its fourth consecutive quarter of occupancy gains with 4.5 million square feet of space absorbed in the first quarter, according to a new report from Jones Lang LaSalle. The report, which tracks 43 markets around the country, noted that occupancy increased in both downtown and suburban markets in the first quarter.