Los Angeles ends 2020 with its lowest amount of yearly office leasing activity in decades

With just 2.1 million square feet (msf) of office leasing activity reported in Q4, total leasing activity in Los Angeles of 10.0 msf in 2020 is now the lowest in at least two decades. Compared to the 18.0 msf of leasing activity reported in 2019, transaction volume is down 44% from a year ago as the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent lockdown have caused most occupiers to implement work-from-home (WFH) policies and to delay long-term real estate decisions. While recent news of vaccine distribution is encouraging and provides much-needed optimism that an end of the pandemic is on the horizon, leasing activity is expected to remain at a lower level until immunization is more widespread. Even then, long-term implications of demand shifts due to WFH or pandemic-related reductions will take time to be seen.

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