Contributed by Samantha Mehlinger
Commercial and real estate developers are developing new construction to meet high demands.
"It seems as though we have one of the lowest vacancy rates of any place in the country," says chief economist Robert Kleinhenz from the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corporation. He is in charge of the regional market which includes Los Angeles, Long Beach and South Bay. In Lee & Associates most recent market reports show that high demands and tight supply are increasing sales prices and lease rates.
Kleinhenz noted that the vacancy rate in LA County are low while job counts are improving and new house holds develop. He predicts Long Beach will gain most of the jobs lost in the recession by the middle of this year and subsequently their will be a higher demand to purchase homes. In addition, this year will be the first year for former owners who lost their homes in the recession to have their credit records cleared, which may cause a rise of former homeowners to enter the market.
The good thing is that it appears that the city of Long Beach is stable enough to withstand financial crisis.
