OFFICE SPACE HARDER TO FIND VALLEY AREA BOASTS ONE OF LOWEST VACANCY RATES IN COUNTY AS DEMAND CLIMBS.

Byline: Brent Hopkins Staff Writer

Office and industrial space in the San Fernando Valley became harder to find and pricier to rent in the second quarter, according to two reports released Thursday.

The survey, compiled by real estate company CBRE, found that the Valley area had one of the county's lowest office vacancy rates, falling more than 20 percent in the last year to 7.7 percent. Rents averaged $2.18 per square foot, up from $2.13 in the same period a year ago.

``It's a very strong and active marketplace,'' said Bart Reinhard, senior managing director for CBRE's Los Angeles region. ``The Valley has good, strong momentum and I see it doing nothing but getting better. I don't see the (prices) scaring people out at all.''

Within the Valley market, Mission Hills had the lowest vacancy rate of 0.6 percent, while Panorama City had the highest rate, with 34.2 percent of its office space unfilled. In Ventura County, Westlake Village's rate of 5.2 percent vacancy ranked lowest and Ventura's 18.7 percent claimed the highest emptiness.

Woodland Hills showed the highest asking lease rate in the Valley, with a rate of $2.28 per square foot, while Mission Hills was the least expensive, with a rate of $1.50 per square foot. For Ventura County, Westlake Village brought in a high of $2.25 per square foot, while Camarillo's $1.53 per square foot was the most affordable.

Overall, the greater Los Angeles area showed a vacancy rate of 11.3 percent, with an average asking lease rate of $2.17 per square foot.

For industrial property, the Valley's vacancy rate of 1.9 percent mirrored the county's rate and stood slightly below the greater Los Angeles rate of 2.2 percent. At 67 cents per square foot, however, it ranked most expensive, costing more than the greater Los Angeles rate of 56 cents per square foot.

Panorama City had the highest availability rate, 30.23 percent, while Granada Hills had the lowest, with its two buildings fully leased.

In Ventura County, Camarillo had the most space open, with 9.66 percent available, and Westlake Village had 3.32 percent available, the lowest.

``We're not building much new space, so what we have's being used up,'' said Dan Blake, director of the San Fernando Valley Economic Research Center. ``As the economy recovers, there's not a lot of room here like up in Santa Clarita or out in Ventura. There's strong demand right now.''

Brent Hopkins, [phone]

brent.hopkins(at)dailynews.com