In an article in the Burlington County times, In need of an office space, By Christopher Bishop, Burlington County Times, the Health of Burlington County Business is discussed.

The sun is shining over South Jersey, said Klein, a senior vice president for Grubb & Ellis, one the nation's largest commercial real-estate firms. Based in Northbrook, Ill., the company has a South Jersey office in Evesham.

Klein cited declining office-space vacancy rates and the potential for attracting tenants from outside the region as other positive signs for South Jersey.

She said vacancies declined in the third quarter of 2005 to 11.7 percent for the Burlington and Camden County market. A rate below 15 percent is considered healthy, experts say.

The vacancy rate in Philadelphia and its suburbs was 13.7 percent during the same period.

Craig Guers, senior vice president for developer Opus East, said one reason for the healthy office scene was lack of overbuilding in South Jersey. He said the vacancy rate for Class A buildings was less than 11 percent.

Real-estate experts generally defined Class A buildings as structures 20 years old or newer that have high-quality construction, state-of-the-art systems and rents above average for the region.

Dan McGovern, a senior associate with CB Richard Ellis, a Los Angeles-based company that is the largest commercial real-estate company in the nation, said the region's office market was in good shape because key industries were thriving.

Health care, defense, the mortgage business all three of those are flourishing around here, McGovern said.