(Crystal Proenza is associate editor of Real Estate Florida.)

FORT LAUDERDALE, FL-The local office of CB Richard Ellis has recently closed on 159,555 square feet of office leases in Broward County. Most of the closings took place within the Sawgrass and Cypress Creek submarkets, says Deanna Lobinsky, first vice president of asset services for CBRE, who represented the landlords in the transactions.

"We have seen tremendous activity in those markets, which have been the strongest in the county over the last six months," Lobinsky tells GlobeSt.com. CBRE handles a total of 2.5 million square feet in Broward, of which 700,000 square feet is in the Sawgrass market where most of the leases were signed. "Even to date there are still tenants looking for in excess of several hundred thousand square feet in those markets," she says.

The residential mix in West Broward contains a vital workforce that, despite layoffs by technology-related companies, is driving tenants to Broward as opposed to going south to Miami-Dade County or north to Palm Beach County. "It's not so much a pricing issue because rates here have continued to hold strong," reports Lobinsky.