The city of Westminster is part of Orange County in California. It was founded in 1870 and then incorporated in 1957. As of 2013, it had a population of 91,739. It was originally called Tri-City, as an amalgamation of Midway City, Barber City, and Westminster. However, when Midway City refused to be incorporated, Barber City became part of Westminster, which kept its name. The city is home to many Vietnamese refugees, who arrived during the 1970s. As a result, Westminster is also home to “Little Saigon” with about 40.2% of the population being of Vietnamese descent. The city’s biggest employers are the Westminster School District, Souther California Edison, Ito Farms, Kindred Hospital Westminster, City of Westminster, BE Aerospace, Wal-Mart, Sears, Westminster High School, and the LBS Financial Credit Union.
Westminster Office Buildings for Sale & Lease – Should You Buy or Lease?
If you are interested in getting an office building in Westminster, whether as an investment or for your business , you have two options available to you: buying or leasing. Of course, there are pros and cons to be taken into account.
Looking buying an office building, the pros include the fact that:
- Monthly costs won’t change because amortizations are generally constant.
- There are a number of good tax deductions, including property taxes and mortgage interest.
- You can rent out some of the office space, especially during those times when your business needs more cash.
- You can build up substantial funds, as the property is likely to appreciate in value over time.
On the other hand, the cons of buying include:
- Not having much flexibility because it is not easy to sell the office building in the event that you are shutting down your business or you are moving to another location.
- Having high upfront costs, because of the 30% down payment required by the mortgage.
- There are maintenance, appraisal, and other property costs to take care of.
Your other option is to lease your office space, which has as number of advantages:
- You can get a prime office space, thereby boosting your reputation.
- You need much less funds during the start because there is no down payment.
- You don’t have to concern yourself regarding the usual problems of property ownership.
There are disadvantages to leasing an office building too:
- Your costs will tend to go up. Depending on your lease contract, your rent may increase at certain intervals.
- You do not build up any equity in the property, since you don’t own it.
To help choose between the two options, being aware of the trends and statistics in terms of prices, supply, and demand, can help.
Westminster Office Space for Sale – Trends and Statistics
- The average office property asking price, sale trends, in dollars per square foot for Orange County was $311.66, a three month decrease of 0.2%, but year-on-year increase of 11.3%. This is lower than the metro area ($317.28), but higher than the state ($226.32).
- The index of total available office spaces for sale in the metro area that includes Westminster is 34, which is a 6% increase over the past three months, but a 3.7% decrease year-on-year.
- The index of total number of listings of office properties for sale in the metro area that includes Westminster is 35, which is a 5.5% increase over the past three months, but an 8.4% decrease year-on-year.
- The profile view index for office properties for sale in the metro area that includes Westminster is 138, which is a 19% increase over the past three months, and a 14.5% increase year-on-year.
- The index of total square feet of available office properties for sale in the metro area that includes Westminster is 36, which is a 1.8% increase over the past three months, but a 19.5% decrease year-on-year.
Westminster Office Space for Lease – Trends and Statistics
- The average asking rent for office space for lease in Westminster expressed in dollars per square foot per year is $23.33, which is a 0.9% increase over the past three months, and a 1.9% increase year-on-year. This is lower than the metro ($25.41) area and county ($24.33) area, but higher than the state ($23.08) area.
- The index of total number of office space for lease in the metro area that includes Westminster is 61, which is a 1% increase over the past three months, and a 3.1% increase year-on-year.
- The profile view index for office spaces for lease in the metro area that includes Westminster is 115, which is a 49.7% decrease over the past three months, and a 28.4% decrease year-on-year.
- The index of total square feet available for office spaces for lease in the metro area that includes Westminster is 58, which is a 3.7% decrease over the past three months, and a 12.4% decrease year-on-year.