The most expensive class A market for office space in Los Angeles County is Beverly Hills, according to a report by NGKF and confirmed by Beverly Hills Office Spaces own agents.. At the end of the first quarter 2016, the asking rate was $5.42 per square foot per month, slightly ahead of Santa Monica, which was asking $5.12/square foot.

In its peak in 2008, overall asking rent in Beverly Hills was $4.45 per square foot per month, meaning that the current rates are 12.4 percent higher than they were then. For comparison, the West Los Angeles market as a whole is just 0.2 percent above its 2008 peak.

In the first quarter, vacancy rates did climb from 6.5 percent up to 7.1 percent, a growth of 60 basis points. However, that 7.1 percent is still one of the lowest vacancy rates in Los Angeles, especially on the Western side of the county.

There was a net absorption of negative 14,804 square feet, which was the largest new occupancy loss in one quarter for Beverly Hills since 2012. This is not offset by any new construction that occurred in the first quarter of the year.

We also did not see any major leases being signed in the current market, with the biggest being the 5,898 square foot lease signed by United Talent Agency, for their space located at 9336 Civic Center Drive. The next largest was Cellar of Beverly Hills, which signed a lease on a 5,576 square foot space located at 9250 Wilshire Boulevard.

Photo credit: Flickr user Skinny Lawyer