Major events in individual commercial and industrial real estate markets across the area in the fourth quarter.

The Santa Clarita Valley office market finished the year with a vacancy rate higher than any other in Los Angeles County at 23.4 percent – a full three points greater than in the third quarter.

But in some ways, it could have been worse.

That rate was actually slightly lower than a year ago, according to Grubb & Ellis Co. data. And the hits mostly came gradually as tenants renewed leases at roughly the same rental rates but for less space. Moreover, a handful of bigger deals held the damage at 81,000 square feet of negative absorption.

“We didn’t see new tenants relocate to Santa Clarita, but 2009 was a decent year because a few big transactions kept the market stable,” said Ryan House, vice president at Jones Lang LaSalle.

Among the deals: Newhall Land Development leased 27,000 square feet of headquarters space in Valencia.

The Class A asking rent actually increased six cents from the third quarter to $2.67 per square foot. House doesn’t expect much change in the rate for the rest of the year.

In the region’s industrial market, the fourth quarter saw a pickup in activity but that failed to compensate for a dismal first half of the year. The industrial vacancy rate in the north county stabilized at 3.4 percent, but that was a far cry from the 2.2 percent at the end of 2008.

Landlords are counting their blessings that the construction pipeline is nearly empty. The only new office space under construction is 199,000 square feet at LNR Entrada Gateway The only industrial project is the 100,000-square-foot Santa Clarita Professional Center.

Office Market At a Glance

Inventory: 2.7 million square feet

Under Construction: 199,000 square feet

Class A Asking Rent: $2.67

MAIN EVENTS

• Newhall Land Development LLC leased 27,000 square feet of office space in the Commons at Valencia Gateway industrial park. The tenant is Santa Clarita’s largest landowner and the deal marks a return to normalcy after the company emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy in July. Newhall Land has not yet taken occupancy or opened its doors at the new address.

• Ronan Engineering, an alarm and monitor company, moved into 30,000 square feet of light industrial space at 28209 Ave. Stanford in Valencia. Terms of the lease were not disclosed.

• RAH Industries, a Valencia-based fabricator of sheet metal and tubing, purchased the former Los Angeles Daily News printing plant and offices at 24800 Ave. Rockefeller in Valencia. The company paid $8.3 million.

• Side Yard LLC purchased a 93,000-square-foot industrial building at 26455 Ruether Ave. in Santa Clarita for $9.9 million. Side Yard plans to lease the building for warehouse use to its subsidiary Bocchi Laboratory, a pharmaceutical supply distributor. Bocchi also leased 75,000 square feet at 27801 Avenue Scott.

• Nexus, a communications technology consulting firm, leased 30,000 square feet of office space at 27202 Turnberry Lane in Valencia. The company downsized its space at the same address.

• Bank of Santa Clarita purchased a 15,240-square-foot office building at 26350 Citrus St. in Santa Clarita. The building, currently an Ethan Allen furniture store, will become the bank’s headquarters and new branch when the owners take occupancy in early 2011.