RISMEDIA, December 7, 2006—Steady job growth, bustling international ports, an attractive climate and an investor appetite for stable returns will keep the Southern California office and industrial markets on a healthy growth path into next year. This is according to results from the 2006 Casden Office and Industrial Market Forecast released by the University of Southern California Lusk Center for Real Estate. "The LA office market hasn't looked this good since the late 1980s, Orange County's resilient economy has bolstered demand for office space and the Inland Empire industrial market continues its dominance as a gateway for foreign goods," said Delores Conway, Ph.D., director of the Casden Real Estate Economics Forecast, at a briefing for real estate executives in Los Angeles. "The slowing of residential construction appears to be offset somewhat by expansion in the financial, legal and personal services sectors in addition to increased trade from Asia," she explained. "Investor appetite for office and industrial space persists across the region, stemming from a constrained supply of product and a large amount of capital chasing a limited number of properties for sale," observed Dr. Conway. The annual Casden Real Estate Economics Forecast analyzes economic data on rents, vacancies, transactions and employment for office and industrial markets in Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside and San Bernardino counties. The market data was supplied by Grubb & Ellis, which sponsored the forecast along with Old Republic Title Company, Old Republic Exchange Company, Wachovia Bank, Washington Mutual, the California Real Estate Journal and Real Estate Southern California. A multifamily housing forecast will be released on April 4, 2007.
