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Increase in office space enquiries in wake of Napa Valley earthquake

Data from Search Office Space shows an increase in office space enquiries following an earthquake in Northern California. Structural damage from an earthquake on the 24th of August has set businesses scrambling for temporary premises in the Napa Valley area of California.

Search Office Space saw an increase of 58% in leads the week following the earthquake and repeated spikes in weeks after the disaster struck, suggesting that demand for temporary office space has risen since the damage occurred. Enquiries had originally fallen slightly in weeks preceding the event.

The Earthquake struck at 3.20am local time and the epicenter is believed to have been situated 3.7 miles northwest of the American canyon near the West Napa fault.

The earthquake is the largest of its magnitude in the bay area since the 1989 earthquake at Loma Prieta, which caused $5.6billion worth of damage.

The Napa quake is believed to have caused almost $400 million in damage. Economic losses are at $362.4 million USD, not including losses as a result of business interruption or lost inventory.

Much of this loss is centred in structural damage to commercial property and the shortage of office space has driven up enquiries for serviced offices in the area, as businesses seek to find new safe locations to continue business.

It is currently unknown how long it will take business in the area to recover. With general office enquiries increasing again since that initial surge, it seems likely that it will be quite some time before business settles back to normal.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Search Office Space .