Rental Rollercoaster; Report Finds Los Angeles Apartment Rates Dropping, Though Downtown Landlords See a Different Market
Los Angeles Downtown News
By Richard Guzman
...The Casden Real Estate Economics Forecast, released by the Lusk Center this month, said the high number of foreclosures and overbuilding during the housing bubble has resulted in a glut of rentals in Southern California. It also said a large "shadow supply" of single family homes and condos that have gone on the rental market will continue to put pressure on rents.
The study focused on Los Angeles County, Orange County, the Inland Empire and San Diego County. The largest projected decline was for L.A. County, and San Diego County was the only locale projected to see an increase, though with a meager 0.7% rate of growth.
Tracey Seslen, a professor at the USC Lusk Center for Real Estate who co-authored the study, said no forecasts were prepared for submarkets such as Downtown. But she said the decline is expected to be more moderate than last year's nearly 10% drop.
"All markets are going to be performing better this year than last year, although for some that still means a decline," she said...