California’s Orange County is home to the city of Rancho Santa Margarita. It is one of the newest cities in the county. As of 2010, the master planned community had a population of 47,853, a slight rise from the 47,214 that was counted in 2000. Set upon rolling hills, the city is within Rancho Mission Viejo’s borders. It also has California’s longest city name. In terms of economy, Applied Medical and O’Connell Landscape Maintenance are the largest employers. Construction companies, the educational sector, retailers, and manufacturing companies are other major employers within Rancho Santa Margarita. It is one of the few cities in county where the health sector is not one of the big employers.
Rancho Santa Margarita Office Buildings for Sale & Lease – Should You Buy or Lease?
If you are interested in office space, whether as as an investment or to run a business out of, you can either buy or lease. There are pros and cons for both choices.
When it comes to buying office space, the pros include the fact that:
- Your monthly expenses remain unchanged for the duration of the mortgage.
- You can file for a number of good tax deductions, including property taxes and mortgage interests.
- You can rent out some of the office space to get an additional income stream assuming that it is too large for your business.
- The selling price of the office building will rise over time.
Meanwhile, the downsides of buying office space include the fact that:
- You have less flexibility because if your business happens to grow faster than you had anticipated and you need a larger space, you will need to sell the property first before you can relocate.
- You have substantial initial expenses. You will have to pay at least a 30% down payment on the mortgage. You will also have to be responsible for maintenance, appraisal, and other property costs.
If you lease your office space, you will have several benefits, including the fact that:
- Leasing prime office space is a possibility. This can enhance your reputation.
- You have more working capital because you have less upfront costs.
- You can focus on operating your business because you can avoid the usual problems that come with property ownership.
But leasing office space can have disadvantages, such as the fact that:
- Your rent will likely increase after a certain period, causing your monthly expenses to go up.
- You do not accumulate equity in the property, since you don’t own it.
To help choose between the two options, you can examine the trends and statistics in terms of prices, supply, and demand.
Rancho Santa Margarita 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) area.
- The index of total dollars available for office spaces for sale in the metro area that includes Rancho Santa Margarita 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 Rancho Santa Margarita 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 Rancho Santa Margarita 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 Rancho Santa Margarita is 36, which is a 1.8% increase over the past three months, but a 19.5% decrease year-on-year.
Rancho Santa Margarita Office Space for Lease – Trends and Statistics
- The average asking rent for office space for lease in Rancho Santa Margarita expressed in dollar per square foot per year is $24.10, which is a 2.5% increase over the past three months, and a 5.1% increase year-on-year. This is lower than the metro ($25.41) area and the county ($24.33), but higher than the state ($23.08) area.
- The index of total number of office spaces for lease in the metro area that includes Rancho Santa Margarita 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 Rancho Santa Margarita 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 Rancho Santa Margarita is 58, which is a 3.7% decrease over the past three months, and a 12.4% decrease year-on-year.