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Here are a few of the important points from the quarterly update on the greater Los Angeles industrial real estate market:
- Market Conditions:
- Vacancies and availability increased across all submarkets.
- Lease rates experienced a decrease.
- Sales and leasing activity hit historic lows.
- Construction starts diminished.
- Employment and Wage Trends:
- Unemployment rate fell to 3.8%, with a slight increase in labor force participation rate.
- Average hourly earnings rose by 4.1% year-over-year, surpassing inflation.
- Inflation Concerns:
- Inflation measures remain elevated, with growing worries that the disinflation process has stalled.
- CPI report indicates inflation surpassed forecasts, with both month-over-month and year-over-year increases.
- Economic Growth:
- Economy grew by 2.5% on an annual basis at the end of 2023.
- Forecasted GDP growth for Q1 2024 is around 2.4%.
- Investor Sentiment and Market Behavior:
- Cautious investor sentiment due to uncertainty over potential federal interest rate cuts and geopolitical challenges.
- Opportunities for owner-occupiers to acquire buildings with less competition from institutional investors.
- Smaller buildings sought after via SBA loans and conventional financing, but with stringent oversight from lenders.
- Tenant Trends and Industrial Real Estate:
- Lease renewals becoming more prevalent among tenants.
- Tenants increasingly subletting unused space.
- Despite market corrections, industrial real estate remains sought after, driven by barriers-to-entry and demand for newer, functional space in infill Southern California markets.
The report ends with a note that the Port of Long Beach and Port of Los Angeles are seeing higher volumes. With West Coast labor concerns resolved and issues at the Panama Canal (drought), Red Sea (safety), East Coast labor negotiations and now Baltimore (FSK Bridge Collapse) expect this trend to continue.
