Costa Mesa is a city in Orange County, California, and according to the U.S. Census, it was home to some 109,960 people in 2010. The city was incorporated in 1953, when it was just a small, semi-rural farming community. Today, it is a suburban edge city with an economy supported by light manufacturing, commerce, and retail industries. The South Coast Plaza is the commercial hub of the city, which is a huge and beautiful shopping center. Some 322 stores are operating in the shopping center, making it one of the biggest in terms of sales volume in the country. In fact, the revenue generated at the South Coast Plaza is estimated to be $1 billion per year. Meanwhile, the southwestern portion of the city has a number of manufacturing plants, including plastics, pharmaceuticals, and electronics. Additionally, it is home to the headquarters of numerous companies, including various communication companies and the media.
Costa Mesa Office Buildings for Sale & Lease – Should You Buy or Lease?
For those who are looking for office space in Costa Mesa, they have two major alternatives: buying or leasing. Naturally, each choice has its own set of advantages and disadvantages.
When buying office space, the benefits include the fact that:
- Monthly costs, at least when it comes to mortgage payments, are fixed, which means there are hardly any surprises.
- There are are number of substantial tax deductions, including property taxes and mortgage interest.
- You can rent out a part of the office space to generate extra cash inflow, particularly if you or your business requires it.
- You can get to accumulate some kind of savings as the office building increases in value over time.
On the other hand, there are some cons:
- Office buildings, just like any other real property, are not liquid assets. It would require several months to complete a sale. Thus, if there will arise the need for whatever reason to relocate or close the business, you will be hampered by this.
- You need a fairly large amount of funds at the start because of the down payment.
- There are maintenance, appraisal, and other poperty costs to take care of.
Your other option is to lease office space, which has a number of benefits:
- There is a chance of leasing a prime property, which would do wonders for your reputation.
- You end up having more working capital because there is no need for down payment.
- You don’t have to be concerned about the various issues that usually come with owning a property.
Of course, there are also some disadvantages:
- Unlike monthly amortizations, your monthly costs may go up because of rent increases.
- You do not build up any equity in the property as this is only for the owner of the property.
Let us take a look at the trends and statistics in terms of prices, supply, and demand as a way to help you decide whether to buy or to lease.
Costa Mesa Office Space for Sale – Trends and Statistics
- The average office property asking price, sale trends, in dollars per square foot for the 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 Costa Mesa 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 Costa Mesa 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 Costa Mesa 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 Costa Mesa is 36, which is a 1.8% increase over the past three months, but a 19.5% decrease year-on-year.
Costa Mesa Office Space for Lease – Trends and Statistics
- The average asking rent for office space for lease in Costa Mesa 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 spaces for lease in the metro area that includes Costa Mesa 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 Costa Mesa 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 Costa Mesa is 58, which is a 3.7% decrease over the past three months, and a 12.4% decrease year-on-year.