SCVEDC Economic Snapshot Q2 2024

Below is an analysis of data from the regional Santa Clarita Valley (SCV) market in various aspects such as Industrial & Commercial real estate, retail, residential, hotel vacancy & occupancy, and film activity. The "SCV Market" encompasses the various areas of the City of Santa Clarita (Valencia, Saugus, Newhall, and Canyon Country), as well as the unincorporated Los Angeles County areas of Castaic, Val Verde, Stevenson Ranch, and Agua Dulce.

For a downloadable PDF of the charts and brief summaries of our Q2 2024 Economic Snapshot click here:      

Industrial Market

There’s 640,000 SF currently under construction, with 430,407 of that coming from 4 buildings at the new Santa Clarita Commerce Center. They are expected to be completed in April 2025. There is approximately 2M SF of industrial space available in Q3 2024, with a 19% share of that being sublease space. The Santa Clarita Valley submarket has not had this much available industrial space on the market since Q2 2021.

The rate of vacancy in the industrial market has increased slightly over the last year from 2.6 to 3.3 percent. CoStar reported that 68 leasing deals were signed in 2023. For the first 6 months of 2024, the pace was slightly faster, with 37 deals signed.

Is your company expanding and in need of more space? Check out our Business Park & Development brochure, with information on available Industrial and Office space in the SCV.

Office Market

The local Office Market continues to show weaknesses despite strong office employment numbers, with many employees still working remotely. Vacancy rates and available sublease space are near record highs. Leasing activity valley-wide has hovered around 40k SF/quarter for the past 4 quarters. The SCV saw the first positive net absorption of office square footage last quarter for the first time since Q4 2022. This is not expected to continue in Q3 however, with an increasing vacancy rate that currently sits around 20% in July 2024 according to CoStar. The average market asking rent for the Santa Clarita Valley in Q2 was $36.08/SF, continuing its downward trend from its peak back in Q2 2020.

There is currently only one 55,000 SF office project under construction. Overall, the rise in construction material costs (along with several other relevant factors) has been reshaping the landscape of commercial real estate development, influencing both the financial aspects of new projects and the broader market dynamics. Many companies continue to downsize, either subleasing parts of their space or relocating somewhere with less overall space to consolidate operations.

Available sublease space adds 357,000 square feet to the total direct vacant space of 752,415 square feet. The total is 1.1 million square feet currently available for lease. The total Santa Clarita Valley office submarket comprises 5.6 million SF of inventory.

Residential Housing Market

Market Snapshots above are provided by the Southland Regional Association of Realtors. "Residential Property" encompasses both Single-Family Homes and Condominiums.

Single-family home purchase prices are near record highs. Inventory remains low but has drifted upward this year. For calendar year 2024, 172 units have been permitted in the city and unincorporated areas of Santa Clarita. Nearly all housing in 2024 is single-family detached units.

2024 residential construction activity across both the City of Santa Clarita and areas of Unincorporated Los Angeles County is occurring at a much slower rate than in 2023.

New development activity in the region remains strong, however. Outlook Santa Clarita will open this month or next with 228 new apartment units. Needham Ranch Phase II was just completed. Other residential projects are underway. And the development pipeline is full, which we will address in detail in the upcoming 2024 Santa Clarita Valley Economic Outlook.

For additional apartment/multi-family home data, see the full PDF download.

Hotel Vacancy and Occupancy

Tourism and visitation continue to thrive within the Santa Clarita Valley, driving revenue, supporting jobs and local employers, and continuing to promote the SCV as a prime destination to visit. A thriving tourism sector can attract further investment into the region, including from businesses looking to cater to tourists and other industries seeking to capitalize on the area's attractiveness.

STR reports that average hotel occupancy across the Santa Clarita Valley was 85.6% in Q2 2024, and 84.8% within the City limits, an increase of 9% and 9.6% respectively from Q1 2024, likely due to usual summer tourism activity. The Q2 2024 average occupancy rate saw a 2.3% increase YoY from Q2 2023.

Film & Entertainment

The Film and Entertainment sector has continued to struggle this past fiscal year (July 2023 - June 2024), with the lowest estimated economic impact we've seen in years at $18,502,500. The City normally averages approximately $30M+ annually, and this drop is very likely linked to the multiple strikes and uncertainty within the industry. But with the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE) and the Teamsters seemingly coming to an agreement with the The Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP), the threat of another strike should hopefully be averted and more productions could start up again soon.

It should also be noted that the "Number of Film Days" and "Permits Issued" only applies to filming done outside of certified soundstages, like those run by Santa Clarita Studios, LA North Studios, Valencia Studios, etc. All other locations within the valley, including our many historic movie ranches, receive permitting either from the City of Santa Clarita Film Office or FilmLA. The City's estimated economic impact numbers do not reflect the impact created by productions at certified soundstages, or the movie ranches residing in unincorporated LA County.

Want to learn more about Film & Entertainment in the Santa Clarita Valley? Check out our Virtual Tour, "Hollywood North", to learn more about our numerous soundstages, movie ranches, and other businesses that directly support the local industry!

The Santa Clarita Valley Economic Development Corporation (SCVEDC) is a unique private / public partnership representing the united effort of regional industry and government leaders. The SCVEDC utilizes an integrated approach to attracting, retaining and expanding a diversity of businesses in the Santa Clarita Valley, especially those in key industry clusters, by offering competitive business services and other resources.