Orange County Office Figures Q4 2024

MARKET OVERVIEW

• Although weaker than expected activity remained in the office market, economic indicators pointed to a bottoming out as the economy is primed for a 2025 turnaround.
• Asking rates stayed stagnant at $2.85 FSG per sq. ft. per month as landlords continued to provide aggressive incentives to commensurate transactions.
• Lease activity was kept afloat by the diverse industry mix of transactions below the 10,000 sq. ft. range. In total, this comprised of nearly 80% of all activity in the county.
• Activity was largely driven by technology and pharmaceutical companies throughout the Greater Airport Area (GAA) and the South OC submarkets.
• In Q4 2024 net absorption amounted to negative 188,000 sq. ft., which brought the year-to-date net absorption to negative 979,000 sq. ft. This marked an improvement over 2023's negative 1.7 million sq. ft. of net absorption and indicated that momentum will continue to shift in coming quarters.