Los Angeles Market Update: Office Vacancy Remains Unchanged

In July, vacancies for office properties in Los Angeles remained unchanged from the previous month, at 13.1 percent, according to CommercialEdge data. The office market is continuing its slow but steady recovery, but vacancy remains higher by 90 basis points year-over-year, as in July 2020 it was recorded at 12.2 percent. The national figure dropped 10 basis points month-over-month, reaching 15.5 percent in July.

In the metro’s CBD, office vacancies remained at similar levels from the previous month, at 14.7 percent, as new stock came online. One of the most significant leases of July occurred in the CBD, with law firm Hueston Hennigan signing on for 33,703 square feet at Ivanhoé Cambridge’s 460,000-square-foot PacMutual building at 523 W. 6th St. Also in the CBD, Coretrust inked a 7,000 square foot lease with PeopleSpace, at 444 S. Flower St.

Most submarkets in metro Los Angeles continued to have an elevated vacancy, without significant changes, as recovery continues its rocky road. Some areas where vacancy fared better include East Los Angeles, where it reached 10.6 percent (down 10 basis points month-over-month). Hudson Pacific signed a tenant for 29,440 square feet at its office building, The Maxwell, in the Arts District of East Los Angeles.

Office vacancy in Orange County slightly dropped month-over-month by 10 basis points, to 15.2 percent. Some of the highest vacancies in Orange County submarkets include the Irvine Business Complex (15.1 percent) and the John Wayne Airport submarket (17.8 percent). Vacancies in the Irvine Spectrum submarket are among the lowest, at 8.8 percent (up 15 basis points month-over-month).

Among gateway cities, Manhattan still maintains itself at the top, with office vacancy at 10.9 percent as of July. Los Angeles is faring relatively better than San Francisco, where the figure reached 15.2 percent, while Chicago had the highest vacancy at 16.7 percent.

CommercialEdge covers 8M+ property records in the United States. View the latest CommercialEdge national monthly office report here.