Subject: Economic News (ECO)

Orange County, Calif., posted its lowest office vacancy rate in 15 years, according to a data from Voit Commercial Brokerage. The region's vacancy rate dropped to 7.3 percent, which constitutes a 30 percent decrease from the previous year. In addition, ...

Baltimore Business Journal Office vacancy rates in Baltimore's central business district are projected to decrease even further, according to a Cushman & Wakefield survey. The CBD had a 15 percent office vacancy rate in the second quarter of this year. ...

Minneapolis Star-TribuneSt. Paul's office vacancy is falling, according to a report by St. Paul's Building Owners and Managers Association. The report stated that as of August 1, the downtown vacancy rate stood at 21.4 percent, a drop from 24.2 percent ...

Crain's Chicago Business Office vacancy rates in downtown Chicago hit a 10-year high during the third quarter, according to a MB Real Estate Inc. On average, downtown office buildings were 16.8 percent vacant, the highest percentage since at least 1995 ...

The apartment market has improved across the nation for the third consecutive quarter, prompting some in the industry to declare a recovery is here.Vacancy rates dropped and rents rose in the top 70 markets in the third quarter, according to ...

Houston ChronicleHouston's apartment market has made one of the quickest turnarounds in history in the wake of hurricanes Katrina and Rita, making it a landlord's market. Since Labor Day, more than 17,600 apartments have been absorbed, according to preliminary estimates ...

Boston HeraldThe relentless rise in Massachusetts residential condominium prices has ground to a halt, with prices dipping slightly in August, according to data from the Massachusetts Association of Realtors. The median condo price dropped 0.1 percent to $287,500 in August ...

Charlotte Business JournalDeveloper Cogdell Spencer Inc. has filed to go public with an initial offering that could raise up to $144.9 million. It would be organized as a healthcare REIT. Growth is clearly on Cogdell Spencer's agenda. The IPO filing ...

The Wall Street JournalJudah Hertz, president of Hertz Investment Group, a Santa Monica, Calif., real estate firm, made big bets on New Orleans just before Hurrican Katrina hit. He bought two downtown office buildings for a total of $94 million ...

New York TimesHouston could stand to benefit from the disaster that hit New Orleans and other communities ravaged by Hurricane Katrina. The city's population can surge by more than 250,000. Already New Orleans companies are scrambling to find space in ...