IE Business Daily Business news for the Inland Empire.
Commercial construction in California is as strong now as it’s been since 2001,a report released Wednesday stated.
Several factors, including available financing and a shortage of multi-family housing, will likely fuel more commercial property development for three more years, according to the Allen Matkins/UCLA Anderson Forecast California Commercial Real Estate Survey.
The survey examines seven of the state’s major markets, including the Inland Empire. It’s considered by officials in the public and private sector to be an accurate gauge of future commercial development statewide.
This report, which covers the summer and fall of 2015, is marked by “continued optimism” because of job and income growth and not enough building supply, said Jerry Nickelsburg, adjunct professor of economics at UCLA’s Anderson School of Management.
“The outlook remains positive through 2018, with no weakening in occupancy rates,” said Nickelsburg, who is also a senior economist with the Anderson Forecast, in a statement.
The study, which makes positive predictions regarding residential and retail development, was optimistic about the state’s office and industrial markets.
On the office side, the report predicts no weaknesses in rental or occupancy rates during the next three years, and 40 percent of the developers surveyed said they expect to begin at least one new office project during the next year.
In the industrial sector, the forecast predicts more building up and down the state, with the Inland Empire leading the way. Sixty eight percent of the industrial developers surveyed said they planned to build one or more new projects in Southern California between June of this year and June 2016, the report stated.
“Industrial and multi-family are probably the two most important sectors for the Inland Empire, so it’s good to see that both of them are expected to do well,” said Jay Prag, professor of economics and finance at the Drucker School of Management at the Claremont Colleges. “I think years [of growth] is an accurate forecast.”
