With the second highest vacancy rate in Los Angeles County and little activity in the second quarter, things don’t seem to be getting much better in the Santa Clarita Valley office market.

But they aren’t getting worse either, and in today’s economy, many can live with that.

“The last quarter was status quo,” said Ryan House, vice president at Jones Lang LaSalle. “There wasn’t anything significant that happened in one direction or another.”

The vacancy rate of 25.1 percent is virtually unchanged from a year ago but down eight-tenths of a point since the first quarter, according to Grubb & Ellis Co. But House fears vacancies will jump again after several large companies end their leases, which should slow Santa Clarita’s recovery.

“You’re going to see the office market recover in some of the central business districts first,” he said. “Some of the suburban markets, such as Santa Clarita, will recover a little bit slower.”

One sign that recovery could be far off is the Class A asking rent, which dropped 9 cents from the first quarter to $2.55 per square foot. Although big companies have yet to jump on the low rents, many smaller businesses have re-entered the real estate market.

One example is Personnel Plus Employment Services, an agency that helps people find long-term and temporary employment. The company recently signed a 12-month lease for 800 square feet at 25115 Avenue Stanford.

But Kevin Fenenbock, a senior vice president at Colliers International, said such leases will do little to help spur a recovery.

“The companies that drove this market for years, they’re just not expanding anymore,” he said. “We’re going to see that impact vacancy through the remainder of the year.”

Office Market At a Glance

Inventory: 2.76 million square feet

Under Construction: 99,000 square feet

Class A Asking Rents: $2.55

MAIN EVENTS

• Market Tech Media Corp., a grocery store advertising company, leased an 11,000-square-foot building at 27220 Turnberry Lane for three years. The company downsized from a 60,000-square-foot office and industrial building on Avenue Stanford. Market Tech moved its manufacturing buildings to the Antelope Valley, but kept its headquarters in Santa Clarita.
• Reliant Tax Consulting signed a five-year lease on a 1,700-square-foot building at 25115 Avenue Stanford in Valencia. The consulting firm was previously a tenant in a building at 3435 Wilshire Blvd. in Koreatown. Landlord Koll Co. built out the space at Avenue Stanford specifically for Reliant.
• Retail and mobile marketing company mVentix Inc. signed a three-year lease for a 1,600-square-foot office at 25129 The Old Road in Stevenson Ranch. The space, which leased for an asking rent less than $2.10 per square foot, is located at Sunset Pointe Plaza, a three-story office building owned by Hines.
• Personnel Plus Employment Services, a staffing agency specializing in direct-hire and temporary positions, signed a 12-month lease on a small office space at 25115 Avenue Stanford in Valencia. The 800-square-foot office is owned by Koll Co. Personnel Plus also has an office in Granada Hills.
• A private security company moved from Studio City to a 1,300-square-foot office space at 23929 W. Valencia Blvd. in Santa Clarita. The company, which could not be named due to the terms of its lease, signed a 36-month deal with landlord Property Management Associates for an undisclosed amount.