Tax overhaul good news for CRE say real estate pros

A panel of real estate professionals in California are predicting strong returns for investors in the state's commercial sector

Tax overhaul good news for CRE say real estate pros
A panel of real estate professionals in California are predicting strong returns for investors in the state’s commercial sector.

The biannual Allen Matkins/UCLA Anderson Forecast California Commercial Real Estate Survey for winter/spring 2018 predicts that the CRE sector will benefit from the recently approved tax reforms, making investment in the sector more attractive.

The industrial sector is, as in other predictions, a hot one. For the survey’s three-year outlook, the experts think there will not be enough space to meet demand from the escalating ecommerce industry, especially with consumer spending forecast to rise following the tax changes.

Optimism for the office market in California has improved among developers, but the panel are not yet convinced that there is a large improvement for the sector in the coming years. Their view has changed little from June 2017, but they note that if sentiment remains high there should be more office construction in the future.

Retail remains under pressure with panellists less optimistic now than they were before the tax reforms were passed. Retailers continue to see their growth rate lag that of online retail, especially Amazon Prime.

Multi-family remains a good performer for investors with permits for new developments up 12.8% in 2017 from the previous year.

There is diversity though on land prices between the north and south of California. In the Bay Area experts believe an equilibrium has been reached while in Southern California land prices are increasing faster than inflation.

Rental market demand remains strong.