Orange County\u2019s biggest commercial property managers expanded their local footprint this year, signaling a modest rebound in management activity compared to last year.<\/p>\n
According to the Business Journal\u2019s latest survey of 17 third-party managers, the largest firms in Orange County managed 129.8 million square feet of rentable space as of March 2026, a 3.8% increase from 125 million square feet a year ago. On our list last year, the commercial property managed fell 1.5%.<\/p>\n
The number of local properties managed by these companies also grew by 3%, rising from 2,571 to 2,652 over the past year. The number of employees based in OC as of March increased nearly 3% to 1,167.<\/p>\n
The Business Journal did not include landlords who manage their own properties on this list.<\/p>\n
The Top 5<\/p>\n
JLL, Lincoln Property Co., CBRE Group Inc., Essex Realty Management Inc. and Greenlaw Partners managed just over 81 million square feet in Orange County, according to the rankings, which is more than 60% of the total tracked space.<\/p>\n
Together, these five firms manage about 1,255 local properties, up from 1,180 last year, making up roughly 47% of the total.<\/p>\n
For the second year in a row, Irvine-based JLL led the list by managing 22.6 million square feet in Orange County. Lincoln moved up one spot to second place with 19.5 million square feet.<\/p>\n
CBRE fell from second place last year to third this year, managing about 18.2 million square feet. Essex ranked fourth with 11 million square feet, and Greenlaw was fifth with 9.9 million square feet. Both Essex and Greenlaw moved up one spot from last year.<\/p>\n
Modest Gains<\/p>\n
Newport Beach-based Lincoln Property Executive Vice President Parke Miller told the Business Journal that the stabilizing commercial market and increased investment activity are beginning to drive new management assignments.<\/p>\n
Lincoln had the highest year-over-year growth among the ranked companies, expanding its local portfolio by 37% and increasing its managed property count by 41%, from 88 to 124. The company also grew its employee count 25% from 131 to 164.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve\u00a0seen improved investment activity across all product types,\u201d said Miller. \u201cSome people might not believe me but the OC office market is fundamentally strong\u2014leasing and occupancy for the \u2018right\u2019 product are great; development is minimal and supply is decreasing.<\/p>\n
Industrial leasing and vacancy are maybe a little off historical standards but it\u2019s still remarkably healthy. And new housing is in the pipeline everywhere, which will have a positive effect on job creation and population growth.\u201d<\/p>\n
No. 12 ranked Coreland recorded the second largest in growth, increasing its square footage in the county by 21% from 2.9 million last year to 3.5 million. The local office manages a total of 8.3 million square feet in Orange County and elsewhere, up from 7.8 million square feet. Additionally, the Tustin-based company increased its managed properties in Orange County by 7% from 112 to 120.<\/p>\n
CBRE reported 9% growth year over year. Chicago-based Cushman & Wakefield also expanded, increasing its local footprint by more than 3% and raising its property count by over 40%, from 74 to 104.<\/p>\n
In contrast, firms like PacificWest Asset Management, Sares Regis Group and Avison Young reported managing less square footage, reflecting fewer new assignments. Avison Young\u2019s managed square footage in the country dropped 19%, the highest on the list, from 1.9 million last year to 1.5 million this year.<\/p>\n
Current Market<\/p>\n
Industry leaders described the current market as competitive but becoming more stable.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn a \u2018choppy but stable\u2019 market like we\u2019re in now, we\u2019re seeing our clients and partners emphasize differentiated service offerings,\u201d said Miller, pointing to customer service, technical capabilities and market intelligence as key differentiators.<\/p>\n
Retail, especially grocery-anchored centers, has become a bright spot in the market.
Vicky Hammond, managing principal at Coreland, said leasing demand in this segment is the strongest it has been in years.<\/p>\n
\u201cGrocery stores drive consistent daily and weekly traffic, making these centers highly attractive,\u201d Hammond told the Business Journal.<\/p>\n
Even as leasing fundamentals improve, rising insurance premiums, security costs and overall operating expenses remain among the biggest challenges for managers, officials said.<\/p>\n
Miller said that although the office sector still faces challenges, it is attracting renewed investor interest, especially for repositioning strategies like converting offices to residential use.<\/p>\n
Industrial properties continue to see steady demand, although vacancy rates have risen slightly from historic lows.<\/p>\n
\u201cCautious optimism on all fronts,\u201d said Miller. \u201cContinued recovery in leasing space and occupancy. Increased investment activity in office properties, and development starts for residential.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hammond says \u201cinvestment sales activity will likely remain measured this year due to continuing macro concerns.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Orange County\u2019s biggest commercial property managers expanded their local footprint this year, signaling a modest rebound in management…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":265837,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[163,165,164],"class_list":["post-265836","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-anaheim","tag-anaheim","tag-anaheim-headlines","tag-anaheim-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/265836","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=265836"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/265836\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/265837"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=265836"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=265836"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=265836"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}