REAL ESTATE : County Is Ranked Fourth in Nation in Market Strength

An accounting firm recently used a computer to rank 50 urban areas around the nation on the continued strength of their real estate markets. To no one’s surprise, Orange County did well. In fact, it ranked fourth. Only Los Angeles, San Diego and Washington, D.C., scored higher.

The accountants, Kenneth Leventhal & Co., looked at the performance of real estate markets over the last five years and projected their growth through the next five. In terms of actual growth--and not the prospective strength of its market--the county actually ranked 13th.

The county’s economic growth is expected to slow early in the 1990s, Leventhal said, but should still wind up one of the nation’s healthier areas for real estate development. The reasons: its diverse economy, its climate and quality of life.

The study said Orange County office buildings should lease about 2 million square feet a year, with vacancy rates dropping from the 22% range to the high teens as fewer new office buildings get built.

As many as 3 million square feet a year will be leased in retail buildings, the study said, with vacancy rates of about 8%. Many of these new stores will be in older areas of the county that are being redeveloped.

Vacancy in factories and other industrial buildings will decline from just above 10% to the high single digits.

More apartments and condominiums will get built each year as single-family houses become increasingly expensive.