REAL ESTATE

Vacancy Rates Deceiving: When it comes to those notorious office vacancy rates, statistics can be deceiving, said Lonnie Riddle, marketing consultant for the Anaheim office of Grubb & Ellis brokerage.

In a study he recently conducted, Riddle found that although Orange County is flush with office space, much of it is piecemeal and would not accommodate a business that requires a large spread.

“The tenant looking for 1,000 to 1,500 square feet of office space has ample opportunity,” Riddle said.

But service-oriented businesses that employ a hefty work force--such as health care, banking, insurance, marketing and title companies--often need more than 19,000 square feet. Riddle said that for those tenants “the window of opportunity narrows.”

For instance, Riddle noted, “Currently, there are no office buildings in North Orange County that can provide contiguous office space in excess of 40,000 square feet, and only five locations that can provide 20,000 to 39,999.”

Just two buildings in central Orange County offer more than 100,000 square feet of contiguous space, and five have space in excess of 40,000 square feet, Riddle said.

“So the (23%) vacancy rate doesn’t tell the whole story,” Riddle said.