In the commercial real estate market, rumblings of the slowdown
October 17th, 2008 by Benjamin KuoI’ve always been surprised by how current the commercial real estate brokers in the region are in terms of high tech startups and venture fundings. You’d be very surprised, as they tend to be the first to hear about new companies, new startups, and venture fundings. So, it’s not all that unusual to see they are also on the forefront of seeing the impact of a slowdown in the economy.
According to this LA times article on the vacancy rate in the Southland:
In a sign that the economic slowdown is affecting Southern California businesses, the rents on office space are down slightly over last year, and vacancy rates are up.
…
“Santa Monica and the surrounding area have been ground zero for digital media,” said David Toomey of real estate brokerage Cresa Partners. “But in the last year or two, the spike in rental rates and lack of product has caused a lot of sizable digital media companies to move out, and look outside the Westside.”
(Yes, I’m quoted in there somewhere…)