As companies continue to tighten their belts, the Hollywood-West Hollywood office market has been declining just as rapidly as it shot up over the past few years.

Vacancies rose again and were 14.6 percent at midyear, more than two points higher than at the end of the first quarter, according to figures from Grubb & Ellis Co.

Class A asking rents declined by 24 cents to $3.64 per square foot, but managed to stay higher than the county average of $3.17.

“In the last 90 days everybody sort of had an epiphany that there are going to be more vacancies than tenants and they better start capturing the few tenants in the market,” said John Tronson, principal, Ramsey-Shilling Commercial Real Estate Services. “We’ve seen rates drop and we’re also seeing some concessions that weren’t previously offered.”

Tronson said he’s also seen more recent interest from buyers who want to take advantage of discounted sale prices. In one notable deal last quarter, media services firm Point.360 purchased a 20,100-square-foot postproduction facility in Hollywood for $4.75 million.

“Buyers are still few and far between but the few that are out there are genuinely interested in closing a transaction and not just the tire-kickers who were out there 12 months ago,” explained Tronson.

While sellers won’t pocket the proceeds they could have had if they sold their properties two years ago, some owners, who made their purchases several years or even decades before Hollywood’s revival, can still manage to swing a profit by selling now, he said.

Office Market At a Glance

Inventory: 3.9 million square feet

Under Construction: 515,000 square feet

Class A Asking Rents: $3.64

MAIN EVENTS

– Point.360, a Burbank-based media services company, purchased a 20,100-square-foot property at 1143 Vine St. from the Michael James Lantry Trust for $4.75 million.

– Kavian Trust bought a retail property at 5711 Hollywood Blvd. currently occupied by home furnishings retailer Pier 1 Imports. GB Pier Hollywood sold the 16,149-square-foot property for $4.5 million.

– Private buyer Jay Harek purchased a 12,540-square-foot multifamily property at 1626 N. Fuller Ave. for $3.05 million. 1626 N. Fuller LLC sold the property through a 1031 tax-deferred exchange.

– The Hunt Family Trust sold a building totaling a little more than 6,000 square feet at 6424 Santa Monica Blvd. to law firm Harris & Ruble for $2.2 million.

– SA Properties Holdings Hillside Avenue LLC purchased a Hollywood apartment complex for $11.3 million from private sellers. The 48-unit property, at 7215 Hillside Ave., was built in 1955 and totals 46,783 square feet. The apartment complex sits on 1.2 acres and includes a pool, barbecue area and on-site laundry.

– CB2, a new home furnishing store from retailer Crate & Barrel, opened its first Southern California location in Hollywood. The 13,800-square-foot shop is located at 8000 W. Sunset Blvd.

– Construction began on the first major component of West Hollywood’s 25th Anniversary Capital Project. Phase I includes a library, park space, tennis courts and two municipal garages.