April 14, 2008
... Dolores Conway, director of the Casden Forecast, which was released by USC's Lusk Center for Real Estate on April 10. The result is likely to produce steady rents into 2009, even while rates across Los Angeles County are expected to rise up to 3% on average this year.
"It is an anomaly because Downtown was one of the tightest markets just two years ago," she said. "There has been a lot of new supply to meet that demand."
That supply has been fueled by new apartment projects, as well as a "shadow market" of condominiums put up for lease by investors. Another contributing factor is condominium projects that converted to rental units amid the ongoing credit crunch, Conway said...