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Southern California Industrial Market: Prospects in Uncertain Times

 by Ross Adams, Research & Strategy, Alternatives  

The picture depicting smokes in chimneys

After two decades of outperformance, Southern California has been in a two-year slump. How long will it last?

Southern California’s primary industrial markets, including Los Angeles, Orange County, San Diego, and the Inland Empire (Riverside) have weakened significantly during the past two years, much more sharply than the nation, and arguably more than any markets outside of the Pacific Region. While it is not unique for west coast markets to exhibit greater volatility in economic cycles, the stark bifurcation of demand between regions is (see exhibit below.)[1] The Pacific Region and Southern California in particular have exhibited high levels of negative absorption in 2024 (following negative trends in 2023), while most other regions posted positive in both years.[1]  Despite higher development totals, markets in the Mountain and South Regions have outperformed.

Industrial Property Market Fundamentals Comparison at Year-end 2024

Source: CBRE-EA, as of 2024Q4
Const - Construction

Fundamentals History

Los Angeles led Southern California’s industrial markets in this past cycle, benefiting from its large and diverse economy and population base, and its place as a primary import gateway for US international trade. The combination of severe land supply constraints and persistent demand drove vacancy trends to all-time record lows during a number of years, and market rent levels and investment returns to record highs.[2] In Los Angeles, metro vacancy averaged just 1.2% from 2016 through 2020, then dropped below 1% in the following two years. Riverside and Orange County followed a similar path, as did other markets in the west.[1]

Vacancy Rate Comparison in Southern California Markets

Source: CBRE-EA, as of 2024Q4

As the extreme demand fundamentals reversed course throughout the region, excess space returned to the market in the form of substantial negative absorption in Los Angeles and Orange County and excess construction deliveries in Riverside. Metro vacancy rates (and availability rates that include sublease space) have retraced to levels similar to early-recovery years following the financial crisis (2012).[1]

It is uncertain how long this reversal of trends will last, and there may be different paths to recovery between Southern California markets. But elevated supply competition and weak demand has impacted local market rent levels more than in other regions. Based on CBRE-EA rent data (which measures rent for available spaces), average market rents have declined about 15% from peak levels in Los Angeles and Riverside. However, market rents remain far above pre-pandemic levels (chart below). In Riverside and Los Angeles, estimated market rents in 2024 were twice the market average compared to 2018. This mark-up remains highly attractive to landlords.

Market Rent Growth across Markets Compared to the US Average (CBRE-EA Triple Net Lease (NNN)  Asking Rents)

Source: CBRE-EA, as of 2024Q4

The path to recovery

Despite lower-than-average economic growth, Los Angeles is the gateway to a region with a population of 21 million residents and to a state with 39 million residents. The Southern California region has a vast and diverse economy with an annual economic output of $1.7 trillion.[3]  On its own, the region would be the world’s 15th largest economy.[4] It is also a primary gateway to the western states, which possess stronger growth characteristics than California. These features and linkages will have durable benefits for local industrial markets. 

We believe that demand will turn positive in Southern California in 2025, led by local and regional growth and trade. There is risk of a short-term delay in recovery, as a consequence of disruptions stemming from the Los Angeles wildfires, but our baseline is that economic growth will remain resilient in the near term. There is also potential that the rebuilding of homes, businesses, and infrastructure, in the aftermath of the fires, could stimulate demand for industrial space.

Even with near-term demand improvements, we believe that the coming recovery period will be a protracted one. The chart below estimates recovery periods across markets based on excess available space in 2024 compared to historical demand norms, where future space absorption returns to pre-pandemic levels. Based on this scenario, recovery periods vary from 1.5 years in Riverside to 2.3 years in Los Angeles, assuming minimal new construction for two years.

Estimates of excess supply in Southern California Markets based on pre-pandemic demand norms .

Source: CBRE-EA, as of 2024Q4
SF – Square feet
XS - Excess

In conclusion, the Southern California industrial market will likely have a tough year in 2025 as the foundation for recovery forms, and this will likely weigh on fundamentals and investment performance in the near term. But we continue to believe that the beneficial attributes of the region outweigh near-term risks and the region will again be a good long-term performer.