Los Angeles’ office market may still be grappling with sluggish leasing and elevated vacancy, but coworking operators are continuing to bet on the city’s appetite for flexible space.
The metro area added 13 coworking locations in the first quarter, pushing inventory growth up 3.8 percent quarter over quarter, L.A. Business First reported, citing a new report from CoworkingCafe. The region now has nearly 8 million square feet of coworking inventory spread across 351 locations — the largest footprint of any market in California and the most coworking sites in the country.
Coworking space now accounts for roughly 2.6 percent of all office inventory in Los Angeles, underscoring how landlords and operators are still leaning on flexible workspace as traditional office demand remains uneven. Hybrid work setups, downsizing tenants and companies reluctant to commit to long-term leases have all helped prop up the sector as the broader office market continues to search for firmer footing. Overall office vacancy across Los Angeles remained unchanged from late last year at 15.9 percent in the first quarter, per Kidder Mathews data.
The average Los Angeles coworking location clocks in at 22,055 square feet, larger than the national average of nearly 18,000 square feet but trailing San Francisco at 25,530 square feet and Orange County at nearly 24,000 square feet. At the same time, pricing for users appears to have plateaued. A monthly coworking membership in Los Angeles averages about $235, slightly above the national median of $220, while day passes average roughly $40. Neither figure moved significantly despite the increase in supply.
The market remains heavily concentrated among a handful of national and regional brands. Regus leads in Los Angeles with 38 locations, followed by Premier Workspaces with 30, Barrister Executive Suites with 21, Industrious with 17 and Spaces with 16. Those five operators together control nearly 35 percent of the city’s coworking inventory.
Nationally, coworking operators opened roughly 280 locations in the first quarter, bringing the U.S. total to roughly 9,140 active sites. Unlike prior growth cycles dominated by the country’s biggest cities, the biggest gains in the latest expansion wave were in secondary markets like Philadelphia and Tampa.
— Chris Malone Méndez
Read more
Commercial
Los Angeles
Industrious launches second brand for co-work space in Beverly Hills
Commercial
San Francisco
CBRE-backed Industrious grows SF footprint with additional 17K sf
Commercial
Los Angeles
Serendipity Labs takes over WeWork space in Costa Mesa