This year’s University of Southern California Casden Real Estate Economics Forecast predicts rent increases for the next two years throughout the region. However, the annual report also noted that the economy’s surprising resilience can’t alleviate the region’s housing shortage.
“While fighting inflation, the Federal Reserve accomplished their soft landing after holding mortgage rates historically high,” said forecast author Moussa Diop, associate professor of real estate at the USC Sol Price School of Public Policy. “Though the economy has proven quite robust, new housing supply and affordability remain on shaky ground.”
He continued, “As rates drop slowly, the mortgage market will improve, but we’ve experienced a construction slowdown in an area dangerously tight on new supply. Meanwhile, states like Florida and Texas are outbuilding us. When it comes to housing, California is falling behind.”
The annual forecast provides current and projected multifamily rents and vacancies for the next eight quarters in five regions: Los Angeles, Orange, San Diego and Ventura counties, and the Inland Empire.