Los Angeles “Red Hot” Real Estate Market

There are a lot of perks to going to school in Los Angeles. For one, it’s sunny almost every day. There aren’t many other places where you can walk to class in flip-flops during the middle of February. But LA is more than just idyllic weather. It’s an immensely diverse city, and exploring it exposes you to an infinite array of people and opportunities. Film executives are making deals in Hollywood at the same time as a skateboarding competition in Santa Monica. This is the reason LA is one of the most famous cities in the world, and it is a contributing factor to USC’s prominence as a University. In fact, LA’s vastness is a big reason why I chose to attend USC in the first place. I knew that my opportunities would be endless if I went to school in LA. However, I didn’t know I wanted to work in real estate at the time. It was only when I joined TREA that I discovered how important LA is within the world of commercial real estate.

For each of the last five years, Los Angeles has been a top destination for foreign and domestic investors. The reasoning for this is best explained by Todd Tydlaska, executive vice president of capital markets at CBRE. “First off, it’s one of the six primary gateway markets that still feels affordable, comparatively speaking. Second, L.A. was late to the recovery this cycle compared with tech-driven markets such as San Francisco, Seattle and Boston. Third, no single industry is leading the economic recovery in L.A. Four, fundamentals are strong and there are significant barriers to entry in the Greater LA market, meaning that investors are underwriting continued strong leasing fundamentals. Five, this area boasts a tremendous population base that feeds the market locally and regionally; and last but not least, the ports of L.A. and Long Beach are a huge driver of economic activity and growth.”

Put simply, LA is red hot. The high levels of foreign investment in LA’s real estate market are indicative of LA’s growth. Industrials, especially in the inland empire, saw a 266% increase in foreign capital during 2019. Retail rents in LA have risen 19% over the past year. These numbers demonstrate exactly LA is the place to be if you work in commercial real estate. Even with concerns about a looming recession, LA’s economy is too robust for capital to not keep flowing.