Q3 2015 Ventura County Office and Industrial Market Report

Industrial Vacancy Rates Reached Their Lowest Levels Since Q2 2009 in Ventura County

After holding steady for two consecutive quar­ters, vacancy rates declined 30 basis points (bps) to 5.6 percent in the third quarter, the lowest levels since the first quarter of 2009 and an improvement of 80 bps over the year ago period.

Space has been filling at a steady pace for a number of quarters now, and absorption has also shown steady gains. In the third quarter, 225,000 square feet of space was absorbed, more than 130 percent more than the prior quarter but well below the 424,694 square feet of absorption in the year-ago period. A similar pattern is found in year-to-date ab­sorption which registered 734,200 square feet for the first three quarters of 2015 com­pared to 1,239,900 square feet in the first three quarters of 2014. However, it’s impor­tant to note that the most recent patterns compare very favorably to 2013 when the first three quarters of the year saw negative absorption of 271,000 square feet.

The relatively small size of Ventura’s industri­al market has traditionally led to fluctuations in leasing activity, although each quarter has brought a steady flow of new leases. A total of 555,725 square feet of space was leased in the third quarter, down from 908,111 square feet in the second quarter of the year and from the 863,247 square feet of space leased in the third quarter of 2014.

Average lease rates have also seen similarly inconsistent increases. The average lease rate for the third quarter was $0.65 per square foot, $0.03 lower on a per square foot basis than the average in the prior quarter but $0.02 more than the average of $0.63 per square foot a year ago. Nevertheless, at $0.65 per square foot, the region’s lease rate reached its highest level since Q1 2009.

As is the case in other industrial markets, sales activity has continued to rebound along with sale prices. Year-to-date there were 58 industrial building sales at a median price of $113 per square foot compared with a me­dian price of $106 per square foot in 2014.

Quarter-to-quarter, median sale prices have been ticking up for the past four quarters. In Q3 there were 22 buildings sold at a median price of $115 per square foot, up from $94 per square foot in Q4 2014.

Vacancy Levels Dipped Again in Q3 Driving Average Lease Rates Up $0.05 vs. the Year-Ago Period

Leasing activity was moderate in the third quarter, totaling 250,988 square feet, but the continued steady leasing in the region was enough to knock vacancy rates down. Third quarter office vacancies dipped another 10 basis points (bps) compared to the prior quarter to 14.4 percent and are now 40 bps below the year ago period.

It would appear that the continuing activity is bolstering landlord confidence, and in Q3 we saw another bump in lease rates to $1.97 per square foot from $1.95 per square foot in Q2, and a $0.05 per square foot improvement over the year-ago period.

Absorption rates continue to indicate that the Ventura County office market is taking two steps forward and one step back. In Q3 a total of 23,200 square feet of space was leased on a net basis, somewhat more than the 16,839 square feet of net leasing that took place in Q2 but short of the year ago period when 34,216 square feet of office space was leased on a net basis. Year to date, absorption remained in negative territory with 23,500 fewer square feet leased than were vacated.

Recent news that homebuilder Ryland Group will be closing its Westlake Village office at the end of the year following its merger with CalAtlantic Group Inc. likely reflects continued upheaval for the area’s office market.

The market snapshot is a bit different on the sales side. With brisk levels of sales activity and limited supply, building prices are escalating. A total of 41 office buildings traded year-to-date in 2015 driving a 35 percent increase in prices. Year-to-date, the median price of buildings sold in the region was $191 per square foot, up from $142 per square foot for the same nine-month period in 2014.

For the third quarter, 28 office buildings traded at a median price of $187 per square foot. That median price is down from the prior quarter’s $219 per square foot, but only seven buildings traded in the second quarter of the year.

In summary, fundamentals in the Ventura County office market are showing steady, if slow, improvement consistent with the region’s larger economy.

Lee & Associates-LA North/Ventura, Inc., a member of the Lee & Associates Group of Companies, is a full service commercial brokerage company with offices in Sherman Oaks, Calabasas, Ventura and Antelope Valley. LA North is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year. Additional in­formation is available at www.lee-associates.com.

Q3 2015 San Fernando Valley Office and Industrial Market Report

Industrial Vacancy Rates in Los Angeles North Hit a 10-Year Low in the Third Quarter  

Industrial vacancies in the Los Angeles North market hit a 10-year low in the third quarter, declining to 2 percent from 2.4 percent in the prior quarter and 2.6 percent in the year-ago period.

Supply is even tighter when you consider that eight of the region’s 13 submarkets are op­erating with vacancy rates below 2 percent. Among them are Canoga Park, Burbank, Glen­dale, San Fernando/Sylmar/Pacoima/Arleta, Sun Valley and Van Nuys, communities with some of the largest concentrations of indus­trial space.

The severe space constraint is now beginning to affect leasing activity. Just 562,378 square feet of industrial space was leased in the quar­ter, the lowest level since the first quarter of 2009, and a 67 percent decline compared to the prior quarter’s 1,693,395 square feet of leasing.

Perhaps surprisingly, absorption held up in the third quarter with 716,800 square feet of industrial space absorbed. However, since space is not recorded as absorbed until the tenant moves in, current absorption levels re­flect leasing activity over the past several quar­ters, and it’s likely that we will see a substan­tial drop-off in absorption in coming months due to the constrained supply of inventory.

Average lease rates are now $0.71 per square foot, 22 percent above the lows reached dur­ing the recession. Landlords may push rates on a case-by-case basis, but the severe inven­tory shortage is likely to limit average increas­es for the region as we go forward.

Sales activity continues to be brisk although the number of buildings sold in the third quar­ter fell off compared to the prior two quarters of 2015. A total of 36 buildings traded in Q3 at a median price of $141 per square foot. That compares with 95 building sales at a median price of $133 per square foot in Q2 and 56 building sales at a median price of $141 per square foot in the first quarter of the year. The median price of industrial buildings sold in the current quarter reflects a 28 percent year-over-year increase.

Vacancies Continue to Decline and Lease Rates Rise as a Very Active Sales Sector Pushes Building Prices

Los Angeles North office vacancies dipped to 13.8 percent, a decline of 10 basis points (bps) in Q3 versus the prior quarter and 70 bps below levels in the year-ago period. The last time vacancy levels reached 13.8 percent occurred in Q4 2008 as the impact of the recession was just hitting the Los Angeles North office market. Ultimately, vacancy levels rose to 19.1 percent before beginning the current pattern of descent in 2010.

As space fills, landlords have become more willing to push rents, although the pattern of lease rate increases can best be described as cautiously assertive. In Q3 asking lease rates averaged $2.31 per square foot, $0.02 per square foot more than the average in Q2 and $0.05 per square foot above the year-ago period.

Lease rates in the region continue to remain well below pre-recession highs of $2.50 to $2.70 per square foot, an indication of the slower pace of job market recovery and the way office space is filling. Los Angeles County continues to underperform California and the country at large in employment and earnings recovery.

The spotty nature of the market’s performance can best be seen in absorption levels, which in the third quarter were a meager 61,800 square feet. That compares with absorption of 176,977 square feet in the prior quarter and 290,027 square feet in the year ago period. On a year-over-year basis, absorption was 342,892 square feet compared with 725,000 square feet in the same nine-month period in 2014.

While there has been a steady stream of leasing in size ranges from 2,000 to 5,000 square feet, the market also saw large blocks of space given back in some submarkets in the current quarter, among them, Burbank, North Hollywood and Warner Center, and to a lesser extent, Sherman Oaks and Encino. Except for Burbank, those submarkets all registered negative absorption levels in the quarter. That said, the pace of leasing activity in the last two quarters should push absorption levels up in Q4.

The sales sector continues to be the brightest star in the market with year to date median prices for office buildings rising to $223 per square foot, the highest levels since 2010, and the number of sale transactions on pace to exceed that of any recent year.

Lee & Associates-LA North/Ventura, Inc., a member of the Lee & Associates Group of Companies, is a full service commercial brokerage company with offices in Sherman Oaks, Calabasas, Ventura and Antelope Valley. LA North is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year. Additional in­formation is available at www.lee-associates.com.

Thousand Oaks Medical Office for Lease - Suite 205 Video Tour

Thousand Oaks Medical Office presents suite 205 at the Rolling Oaks Medical Center. The suite has a double door entrance off the second floor lobby, directly across from the elevator. The medical office has a private back entrance and exit, private waiting room for patients, medical staff administration room, 2 filing and lab rooms, 2 exam rooms, private restroom, consultation room and windowed office.  The medical suite is located at 425 Haaland Drive, Thousand Oaks.  

http://www.thousandoaksmedicaloffice.com/425-halland-drive/

Agoura Hills Office for Lease

Looking for a reasonably priced professional or medical office in the city of Agoura Hills? Creekside Plaza is certainly worth considering. With reasonable rental rates and a variety of office layouts and designs, Creekside Plaza can accommodate the traditional as well as unique businesses looking for the right office space with the right lease terms. If looking to invest long term capital into your business location, Creekside Plaza’s ownership and management fully understands the value into investing back with you into the space with on one of a kinds building finishes and designs to create the environment and functionality you are envisioning.  The office building can also accommodate a variety of medical practices and has the experience of going thought the permitting process and medial office design and build. 

The Agoura Hills office building has recently undergone renovations that include the exterior floor finishes, first floor lobby areas and hallway corridors.  The building has also upgraded to a more efficient heating and ventilation system.

The management team is professionally trained and is ready to assist you with any building matters. Janitorial services are provided in the building and is kept clean throughout the interior and exterior.          

Neighboring cities include Calabasas, Oak Park, Westlake Village, and less than 10 miles from Woodland Hills and the San Fernando Valley. The office building is conveniently located south of the 101 Ventura Freeway just off the Kanan Road exit at 28720 Roadside Drive, Agoura Hills.

Unique features that differentiates this Agoura Hills office building to others is the underground and ample surface parking. The common parking area is wrapped around the entire building for convenient entry points into the building.  The exterior is well landscaped with California-native plants and nestled against the Santa Monica mountains. 

Not exactly sure what you are looking for, the professional leasing agents at the building can assist you with your requirement.

http://www.agourahillsoffice.com/

Westlake Village Office For Lease - North Ranch Atrium Suite 240

The North Ranch Atrium office in Westlake Village is pleased to present suite 240 available for lease. The as-built office floor plan is a very functional space with private reception area, 3 windowed offices, bullpen area with natural light,  kitchen/break area and storage. The efficient office works well for a variety of professional uses looking for office space in Westlake Village.   

Westlake Village Office For Lease - North Ranch Atrium Suite 234

The North Ranch Atrium in Westlake Village has a variety of office spaces for lease. Suite 234 is a unique 2 story office unit with balcony.  The office space has vaulted ceilings and beautiful windowline with open area. The space has 2 private offices or conference room, reception area, storage closet, built-in cabinets and much more. The office suite is turn-key ready for a private practice, small business or locally based organization looking for a professional office for lease in Westlake Village.

Westlake Village Office For Lease - North Ranch Atrium Suite 230

The North Ranch Atrium in Westlake Village offers a professional office suite available for lease.  The entrance faces the tranquil atrium with lush landscaping and water features. The inviting reception area is combined with an open bullpen area or flexible creative space. There are 2 private windowed offices and 1 interior office or conference room. As a additional feature, the unit also has a private restroom.  The efficient office space is perfect for a professional business or organization looking to rent office space in Westlake Village.

Thousand Oaks Medical Office - 425 Haaland Drive

425 Haaland Drive in Thousand Oaks is contemporary medical office building for lease. One of several medical offices located in the Rolling Oaks Medical Center located just south of the 101 Freeway.  A great network of physicians in this medical campus in addition to the Thousand Oaks Surgical Hospital.

Thousand Oaks Medical Office for Lease - 375 E. Rolling Oaks Drive

375 E. Rolling Oaks Drive is part of the larger Thousand Oaks medical campus called the Rolling Oaks Medical Center. One of the premier Class A medical office buildings in the Conejo Valley.

http://www.thousandoaksmedicaloffice.com/

The New Standard - Marketing Commerical Real Estate

The opportunity came my way from my best friend. I was about to learn from a test project about social media marketing in real estate.  Still to this day, majority of the commercial real estate broker dismiss most of the forwarding thinking technology that is already here. This is due primarily to their long client based relationships and tenner in the industry.  

The test project was to assist in the marketing efforts towards exposing an estate to the digital world. Already was an amazing video tour with aerial views taken from a private aerial videographer and a visually appealing web site. The challenge was that there were not many views or visits to the website. The plan was to create a full circle using the other social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter and utilize all the social media vehicles in sequence to lead followers to the web site.  The truth was that I didn't completely understand how everything was going to work out.  Setting up the accounts were fairly easy and the rests was manpower. The plan was to make as many authentic connections and continue to post daily relevant posts.  The Facebook advertising dollars also assisted greatly. Facebook advertising has a user friendly demographics targeting strategy. Without a doubt, this made a significant difference in targeting new traffic to the site.  The end result was success. I was able to significantly increases to the landing page visiting and expose the estate to a much larger digital world.

Through this experience, I learned a valuable lesson about the social media world and how it might work in commercial real estate.  The next project that I would experiment with would be for an office building in Woodland Hills. When traditional commerical real estate marketing efforts needed some additional support, this is what happened. Stay Tune. http://woodlandhillsoffice.com/

Thousand Oaks Medical Office For Lease - Rolling Oaks Medical Center

The Rolling Oaks Medical Center is a Class "A" Medical Office campus in Thousand Oaks. The campus has several medical office buildings with a diverse mix of health care specialists. 375 & 415 E. Rolling Oaks Drive and 425 Haaland Drive make up 3 of the buildings within the medical center and offers several available medical suites for lease. The location has a built-in network of physicians and houses the Thousand Oaks Medical Hospital, part of the Los Robles Hospital and Medical Center.  Located in the beautiful rolling hills of Thousand Oaks, the property has convenient access to the 101 Freeway.

http://www.thousandoaksmedicaloffice.com/

Simi Valley Office For Lease - Simi Valley Business Center

40 West Cochran Street is a professional office building for lease in Simi Valley. The building offers a variety of functional suites. Several of the office suites have terrific windowline, reception area, conference room, open cubical area, storage closets and more. The building can provide up to 4 per 1,000 parking and is elevator served. Additionally the building provides 5-day suite janitorial service and utilities.
Located across the street from Costco, 40 West Cochran has excellent freeway access to the 118 Freeway. This Simi Valley office for lease is located near Wood Ranch and the Conejo Valley and is centrally located between Santa Barbara and the Los Angeles Counties.