The real estate market of Los Angeles and southern California are as sprawling and diverse as the region's geography. From the coastal cities to the valleys to the deserts, the region encompasses three counties (Los Angeles, Orange, and San Diego) and is home to nearly 17 million people, with 9.8 million of them in Los Angeles, the second-most-populous city in the country. There are 40 multifamily submarkets, with 11 of those in Los Angeles alone, according to the University of Southern California (USC) Lusk Center's Casden Real Estate Economics Forecast; CB Richard Ellis (CBRE) analyzes nine office submarkets in Los Angeles County.
Universities are not the only regional assets helping generate real estate activity. "Industrial real estate has come roaring back," says Richard Green, director and chair of the USC Lusk Center for Real Estate. "Near the Port of Los Angeles there is virtually no space; the reported vacancy of four and a half percent is really a configuration problem. It's the busiest container port in the United States, and the demand it creates for warehouse and distribution space is being experienced as far away as the Temecula and San Bernardino."
Yet, the demand for housing extends to other specialized product types as well. Stedman cites the Union Bank community development finance group's activity in affordable housing as an important component of the firm's business, while the Lusk Center's Multifamily Report notes that a significant number of the new units delivered in 2010 were affordable or workforce housing.
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