Forecast Says Office Market Will Get Better

ORANGE COUNTY, CA-Orange County’s office market will continue to soften over the next few months but then begin to improve, leaving its vacancy factor lower in mid-2003 than it is today, according to a new report by the research and consulting firm Delta Associates.

The county’s office vacancy factor currently stands at 12.2%, including space available for sublet, the report says. But developers are beginning to cut back on the number of new projects, and demand should be strong enough to push the vacancy factor down to about 11.6.% by the second quarter of 2003, the study says.

“There will be some continued short-term weakness due to the slowing economy, but the longer-term outlook is still fairly good,” Tong Saetia, a Delta Associates VP and research director for its Western Region, tells GlobeSt.com. “Demand should catch up to the supply and be at equilibrium.”