Conejo Valley Area Has Top Office Vacancy Rate

Office vacancies in the Simi Valley/Conejo Valley area are the highest of any region served by the Los Angeles North office of the Cushman & Wakefield commercial real estate brokerage.

Vacancies in the Simi/Conejo area, which includes Thousand Oaks, Westlake Village and parts of western Los Angeles County, amounted to 22% of existing office space during the third quarter. The next-highest rate in the area was 19% in the central San Fernando Valley.

Simi Valley, with 29% of its office space unused, had the poorest showing of 20 markets surveyed. Of the city’s 328,000 square feet of office space, 94,000 square feet are empty.

Other vacancy rates were: Thousand Oaks/Newbury Park, 23; Westlake Village, 21%; Agoura Hills, 18%, and Calabasas, 21%.

“Owner-users have discovered that the Conejo Valley has numerous office properties for sale at deep discounts,” the report said. “Due to depressed prices, purchasers in this market are finding that the occupancy costs may be considerably reduced by buying rather than leasing.”