Written By: Amanda Baumfeld, Staff Writer for the San Gabriel Valley Newspaper Group
Although office vacancies may continue to be affected by the recession, industrial markets are looking at a possible recovery as overseas demand for American goods increases, according to a report released Thursday. The 2010 Casden Industrial and Office Market Forecast, released Thursday by USC’s Lusk Center for Real Estate, studied the industrial and office markets between the summers of 2008 and 2009. It shows that demand for office space has dropped dramatically but that the industrial market has slightly increased. “Heightened traffic at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach will create more jobs and an increased need for warehousing across Southern California,” said Tracey Seslen, co-author of the forecast. “Considerable downward pressures on office rents will continue, however, due to job losses across the board.” Vacancies in the Los Angeles County industrial market are at 3.2 percent, the report said. That’s similar to Industry’s vacancy rate of 3 percent, according to Don Sachs, executive director of the Industry Manufacturers Council. “It is still better than the average city, and things are beginning to improve,” Sachs said. “Not so much hiring, as businesses are doing well.” The city is even getting inquires about space from other countries, Sachs said. “From my standpoint, getting inquires is better than not having any phone calls,” Sachs said. “A firm from France is interested in a building here, and we entertained an inquiry from Canada.” Meanwhile, decreased demand for office space has affected the San Gabriel Valley, West Los Angeles and the South Bay the most, the USC report said. Overall vacancy rates have increased to 15.6 percent. Amy McNamara, vice president of Grubb and Ellis, said the San Gabriel Valley’s commercial real estate vacancy rate has held steady at 11.9 percent. “I agree there will be very little demand for office space, and that will continue,” McNamara said. “I think the market will continue to be soft throughout 2010. We are not seeing a lot of new vacancies. People are just staying put.”
(626) 962-8811, Ext. 2108
Popularity: 6% [?]
