Los Angeles Retail Market Sees Nearly $5 Mil in Transactions for 2019

The Los Angeles economy continued to expand through the fourth quarter of 2019 with healthy employment growth of 1.8% year-over-year (YoY), adding 69,200 jobs through December 2019. The region boasts a Gross Metro Product (GMP) of $743 bil, which has grown 1.6% YoY. Tourism, a critical driver of retail activity, remains thriving as an estimated 50 million tourists visited the entertainment capital in 2019. According to Moody's Analytics, Los Angeles retail sales hit record levels of $193 bil amidst strong holiday season sales, posting peak growth of 4.1% YoY in 2019 while projected to maintain upward growth of 1.8% in 2020.

Despite retail closures and an uptick in vacancy, shopping center asking rents exhibited an upward trend in the second half of 2019, increasing 5.8% YoY to an average of $27.80 per square foot (psf) per year triple net. The majority of rent growth has been driven by premium high-street asking rates in the prime Los Angeles retail corridors where rates have held strong.