"In our group we've blended different talents and together we can offer into the marketplace the benefits of those talents," says Timothy B. Good, senior managing director of the Investment Properties Group who helped create and will head the new division. "We're in the middle market niche, mostly inhabited by private investors and owners. Those owners typically aren't getting the same information flowing to them that owners of properties in other niches might be receiving, and that's what we aim to provide."

Over the past few years, Orange County has experienced an especially healthy market, performing in a clear direction of increasing rents and absorption and decreasing availability. But recent trends suggest that those lines of demarcation may be getting a little fuzzy now, Good says.

"What has occurred in the last six months or so is while rental rates continue to increase in most markets and user demand has increased, the rate of increase has come into question. The key question for owners and investors is 'has the market peaked for the time being, or are we near the peak?'," he says. "These are questions that owners and buyers need to consider on an asset by asset basis. The era of seeking clarity has made the market more tentative."