Despite unemployment decreasing (currently at 4.3% from 6.8 a year ago), Los Angeles (LA) office space has not increased. As employment has mounted, particularly in the health and education sectors, office vacancy has shrunk by 1.3%
Currently, only 2.3 million square feet of office space is under construction in the greater Los Angeles area, exactly the same from the first quarter of this year.
However, in Hollywood, an exclusive submarket within the greater Los Angeles region, asking rent increased by 21%. As new high-end commercial projects such as the Hudson's Pacific Icon's get under way, the demand for office space has strengthened.
With employment increasing, and vast amounts of space beyond the Hollywood area, it is only a matter of time before commercialization and office space development expands throughout LA.