— By Brian C. Childs, Executive Managing Director, NAI Capital Commercial — Orange County office has historically been last in and first out of any recession or economic setback. That trend continues as an office recovery is in sight in this post-COVID marketplace. The challenge of encouraging workers to return to the office post-pandemic has slowed considerably. The rate of space being vacated in Orange County’s office market slowed to less than a 1 percent increase quarter over quarter in vacant space in the second quarter of 2023. This is compared to the 17 percent year-over-year rise, resulting in a total of 20.9 million square feet of vacant office space. Similarly, the growth rate of available sublease space also experienced a slower pace of 0.2 percent quarter over quarter, compared to a 23.4 percent year-over-year increase, reaching 4.6 million square feet. The second-quarter office vacancy rate sits at 13.3 percent, versus 13.2 percent in the first quarter. Overall office vacancy was at 11.5 percent a year ago. As the availability of office space has begun to stabilize, the average asking rent remained unchanged compared to the previous quarter. There was a minor decline of …
