Dr. Delores Conway, director of the Casden Real Estate Economics Forecast at the USC Lusk Center for Real Estate, is quoted in the April 27, 2009 edition of California Real Estate Journal:
SoCal Apartment Fundamentals Slip
California Real Estate Journal
...Home prices are down, rents are down, and apartment vacancies are up in every region of Southern California, except for San Diego, which experienced a 1 percent rent increase in 2008, according to a study conducted by the Casden Real Estate Economics Forecast at the University of Southern California's Lusk Center for Real Estate.
Since the credit crunch of late 2007 morphed into the economic meltdown in October 2008, multifamily in Southern California had been considered the bright spot in commercial real estate, but the Casden Forecast dispelled that belief. A trio of economists painted a dreary picture on April 8 of the regional and national multifamily markets, as well as unlikely prospects for even a slight economic recovery until late 2009 or early 2010, during the first in a series of panel discussions held during the Casden Forecast's multifamily conference at the Millennium Biltmore in downtown Los Angeles...
..."In Los Angeles County alone, 41,000 people moved out of apartments last year - compared to the 29,000 who moved in over the past five years," said Delores Conway, director of the Casden Forecast. "The dramatic changes in the economy are taking their toll on landlords, who are lowering rents or giving concessions just to keep their units occupied..."
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April 27, 2009