Los Angeles Market Update: Office Vacancy Continues to Struggle

Despite challenges, the market’s rate remains below the national average, according to Commercial Edge’s latest data.

Office vacancy in metro Los Angeles reached 13.0 percent in September, CommercialEdge data shows. Month-over-month, the rate decreased by 50 basis points, reaching the same value as two months ago. The metro’s rate remains below the national average, which also decreased by 50 basis points and was at 14.9 percent in September.

Year-over-year, the vacancy rate across the metro is higher by 50 basis points. The average full-service equivalent listing rate grew by 8.1 percent year-over-year, reaching $41.62 in September. Economic turmoil continues both due to the pandemic’s effects and the unprecedented backlog at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach.

Metro Los Angeles continued to maintain its position relative to other gateway cities, faring better than San Francisco at 15.0 percent, or Chicago at 16.9 percent office vacancy. Manhattan remains the metro with the lowest rate, which reached 10.8 percent in September.

With vaccination rates increasing, return-to-office plans might become more realistic. Media and tech continue to drive activity in metro Los Angeles, while new office stock is often preleased rather than adding to the available space and some companies continue to downsize their footprint. In Santa Monica, game developer Activision Blizzard leased 90,000 square feet at Clarion Partners and Lincoln Property Co.’s Pen Factory office building. The company announced earlier this year it will move out of the 215,000-square-foot space it was calling home. Vacancy rates in Santa Monica increased by 90 basis points month-over-month, to 15.0 percent in September.

Most submarkets across Los Angeles continued to record a diminished pace of office leasing activity by the end of the third quarter, with small fluctuations in vacancy rates. In the CBD, the rate decreased by 50 basis points month-over-month, reaching 14.2 percent in September. The Wilshire Corridor submarket recorded a significant month-over-month drop in vacancy, down by 150 basis points to 8.5 percent. Other submarkets where vacancy decreased since last month include the Central (10.8 percent) and West San Fernando Valley (9.0 percent) areas, down by 20 and 70 basis points, respectively.

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

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