"Class A office asking rental rates will likely continue to increase in both Westchester and Fairfield, but only slightly through the end of the calendar year with a lowering of availability in both counties," notes Kim Mowers, senior vice president of Grubb & Ellis. "Absorption rates will start to ease, however, and we will experience a slowdown in leasing momentum compared to the heated activity in the first three quarters of the year."

Mowers relates that growth among existing corporate office tenants in both markets as well as the continued expansion of the technology and venture capital sectors will keep the real estate market strong for the next six to eight months. However, he cautions that e-commerce and Internet firms will begin to put space back on the market.

"We are already starting to see a weeding out in the e-commerce field," he says. "Successful firms will reconsider space needs, while some others will exit the market rapidly."