Vacancies in Los Angeles County’s retail market have reached a concerning new high.
L.A. County has more than 19 million square feet of empty retail space, accounting for an 8.4 percent year-over-year increase in empty space, L.A. Business First reported, citing a second-quarter report from NAI Capital. That’s roughly 4 million square feet of vacant retail space more than there was in Q2 2020 — the outbreak of the pandemic — “marking a historic peak,” according to the report.
At the same time, average asking rents declined 3.6 percent quarter-over-quarter and 4.6 percent year-over-year to $3.04 per square foot. While the vacancy rate remains high, the pace of vacancy increase has slowed; the rate plateaued in Q2 2025, though it was still 1.5 million square feet above what it was a year prior.
The market could be headed for a turnaround, however, according to J.C. Casillas, managing director of research at NAI Capital. Total retail square footage sold so far this year in L.A. County was up 75 percent compared with the first half of 2024 in L.A. County, while retail sales volume specifically reached about $1 billion in Q2 2025, up nearly 12 percent from the same period last year.
Retailers have been moving into spaces vacated by companies dealing with bankruptcies and store closures, helping stymie any more significant vacancy growth.
By filling in these spaces once occupied by chains like Rite Aid, Sears and Joann, some retail spaces haven’t remained empty for long. Burlington, for example, has been buying closed Joann locations. So while the vacancy number might raise eyebrows today, the conditions appear ripe for a trend in the downward direction in the coming months, according to Casillas.
“You’re seeing some of these folks cycle out on the larger deals and somebody else pick it up and go from there,” Casillas told L.A. Business First.
Retail tenants, like the customers who fill them on a day-to-day basis, tend to flock to attractive properties in prime locations. Still, recovery hasn’t been straightforward, with retail corridors like Venice’s Abbot Kinney Boulevard continuing to see turnover.
“In those areas, on any given weekend they’re very busy. And they’re cycling through too,” Casillas said. “There’s a lot of availability signs, but they’re going through the ebb and flow. Some come out, some come in.”