Office Market Showing Signs of Recovery in First Quarter

Orange County’s beleaguered office market might not yet be in recovery, but there are signs that a turnaround is dawning.

The area’s office market, which totals about 108 million square feet, now counts a vacancy rate of about 18% to 19%, based on a sampling of local brokerage data.

While that’s up about half a percent from three months ago, the rate of additional empty space coming on the market appears to be slowing. That’s largely due to a recent steadying of the county’s unemployment rate and rising consumer confidence, among other economic indicators, brokerage officials said.

“The good news is that most all the indicators have turned or are starting to turn positive,” said Kurt Strasmann, managing director of brokerage services for Newport Beach’s Voit Commercial Real Estate, in a recent note to clients. “The bad news for the most part is (that it’s) at a very slow pace.”

For the area’s leasing brokers, the other source of good news is that deals appear to be picking up some steam after a slow 2009.

“We’ve been busy nonstop,” said Robert Caudill, senior vice president for the Orange office of Grubb