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Originally Posted by LAMetroGuy
L.B. office space getting scarce?
City has one of lowest such vacancy rates in county, report says.
By Don Jergler
Staff Writer
LONG BEACH — A report issued Monday shows office vacancy rates in Los Angeles County have fallen to the lowest level since 2001, a sign that businesses may be gearing up for a stronger economy.
Over the past year, countywide vacancy rates dropped to 15.5 percent from 17.4 percent, bringing the area near a low point at the end of 2001, when the rate stood at 14.5 percent, a quarterly report by real estate firm Cushman & Wakefield shows.
"Businesses are starting to get a little bit more optimistic," said Jack Kyser, vice president and chief economist for the Los Angeles Economic Development Corp. "What we're seeing in Southern California is a pretty steady stream of business expansions."
The vacancy in the Long Beach area remained among the lowest in the county, falling to 10.6 percent from 11 percent the previous quarter, according to Kimball Wasick, a Cushman & Wakefield senior director.
"Long Beach was not a recipient of the big run-up of (lease) rates during the tech boom, so because of that, we didn't have the big fall," Wasick said. "We've been steadier."
Wasick credits that to downtown, which recorded 92,000 square feet of positive absorption in the past 90 days. Realtors measure absorption by lease availability. Positive absorption means more leases have been signed.
The World Trade Center downtown has two yet-to-be announced leases, taking office space in the 27-floor tower to 93 percent of its 560,000-square-foot capacity, Wasick said.
The Kilroy Airport Center also contributes to the area's low vacancy. The 1-million-square-foot business park is 94 percent leased.
The county's Westside market, including West L.A., Santa Monica and El Segundo, has shown the greatest gains since the beginning of the year, falling nearly 3 points to 14.9 percent, Wasick said. The Westside, the area in L.A. hardest hit by the dot-com crash, was the softest in the county at the end of 2002.
The Tri-Cities area Burbank, Glendale and Pasadena remains one of the healthiest office markets with a vacancy rate of 11.8 percent, and the South Bay continues to be the weakest at 19 percent, the report shows.
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