LONG BEACH – One hundred-plus attendees gathered at the Long Beach Grand for the 2018 Industry Forecast luncheon hosted by the Association of Corporate Real Estate Executives (ACRE) of Southern California. The panel, moderated by CBRE’s Ryan Garcia, covered the state of the Southern California retail real estate market and expectations for 2018.
Panelists included Trevor Blood, Vice President at Pacific Southwest Realty Services; Geoff Grossman, Leasing Associate at Centers Business Management (CBM); and Ben Terry, Coreland Companies Vice President of Retail Brokerage.
All were in agreement to start the discussion: “2017 was a strong year for our team. It did not reach the volume of 2016 in terms of transactions, but it was a good year and we expect carryover into 2018,” shared Terry, an ACRE past president and current board member.
From a mortgage banking perspective, Blood shared: “2017 was definitely strong in our market due to the amount of repositioning opportunities. Lenders are not shying away from retail, but tend to favor mixed-use opportunities. Well-positioned lifestyle centers have also proven to be prime financing opportunities.”
Leasing expects to be positively affected by the strengthening of small businesses.
“Due to a combination of factors, we are seeing a lot more people go into business. Whether it’s new restaurants concepts or new service providers, any of these small, start-up businesses ultimately benefit “B” and “C” shopping centers,” said Grossman.
“We will continue to see a lot of different food, fitness and medical uses, and many of these do not need to be positioned at the corner of Main and Main,” said Terry. “Many of these uses have the ability to gain traction in atypical locations due to their ability to attract a wider customer base through social media.
“Another major game-changer will be the progress of click-and-collect services. Retailers like Target and Home Depot are successfully using it to leverage physical stores and we’ll want to watch closely as the model continues to drive retail.”
ACRE is a non-profit association that provides a forum for the exchange of ideas and networking between commercial real estate professionals. Panel discussions and special events are held throughout the year bringing together developers, tenants, brokers, lenders, consultants and other related professionals involved in the Southern California commercial real estate industry.
The next ACRE SoCal event will take place March 13 at the Inland Empire Cultural Center. See www.acresocal.com for additional information.