California CRE Data: Markets and Trends Across America’s 3rd Largest State
Commercial real estate success is driven by relationships and prospects, with California being no exception. California has three major cities that drive its CRE market: San Diego, Los Angeles, and San Francisco. With many major Fortune 500 companies being headquartered in one of these three cities, it’s easy to see what drives the value of California CRE.
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The San Francisco investment market reported $6.8 billion in total sales in the first half of 2025 1
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Los Angeles has a forecasted GDP exceeding $1.3 trillion 2
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The San Diego industrial market totaled $839.3 million in Q4 2025 alone 3
For developers, investors, and other organizations that operate in the CRE space, it’s one of the largest markets in the country and the world. Despite that, it can still be challenging to break into.
Can Biscred help with CRE prospecting in California? Yes, breaking into competitive markets like California is exactly why we built Biscred. It’s a data enrichment platform that’s designed to update your existing lead directories and lists with deeper data and more valuable insights.
What’s the best contact database for CRE in California? Biscred is a top choice for CRE databases because we combine human verification and research with algorithms that crawl and scrape data from across the web to find publicly available information. We keep our platform up-to-date with valuable data you won’t find on a lead list.
Find Key CRE Decision Makers in California
In this guide, we’ll show you how to use Biscred’s data enrichment platform to generate prospects for CRE businesses.
Biscred was originally built as a prospecting platform intended entirely for use in CRE. The platform uses machine learning, deep industry knowledge and research, and a user-centric approach to design that makes B2B lead generation much easier for CRE teams. We want your marketing team to be able to seamlessly integrate Biscred into its tech stack, so we’ve built it with granular, CRE-specific filters, validated data, and deep company insights. Together, this makes Biscred a powerful platform for finding key decision-makers in the commercial real estate industry.
Our database has expanded over the years to include 596,000 companies and 4.2 million CRE professional contacts as of 2026. We continually update Biscred with relevant data.
How to Use Biscred to Find Decision Makers in California
The strength of the Biscred platform is in its ability to slice and dice data to deliver a precisely targeted list of prospects. The best way to understand how it works is to see it, so we invite you to schedule a demo. In short, this is how Biscred works:
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First, set your search area to California. For an even narrower focus, you may also select metro areas (Los Angeles, Palm Springs, San Francisco Bay Area, San Diego, etc.). You have the option to select only companies that have headquarters in the area, or all companies that have a presence in California.
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Next, filter by industry. Biscred uses 29 primary industry categories and even more subcategories. Industries include developers, property managers, architects, professional service providers, technology and investment firms, to name a few. As an example of subcategories, within the CRE broker industry, you’ll find agencies, debt, equity, and landlord/tenant representations.
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Next, set your asset class. Leave it defaulted to all, if the type of commercial real estate doesn’t matter to you — there are 24 asset classes within Biscred’s database. Or, select the asset classes most relevant to your interests — healthcare, life sciences, industrial, mixed use, office, etc.
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Set your people filters. Biscred allows you to filter based on job titles, seniorities and several other micro filters (e.g., “limit to people with emails”).
Optionally, select additional filters. You’ll also find filters to select companies of a certain size (employee, revenue and property count), as well as building details like building zoning and square footage.
California Commercial Real Estate Market — Insights and Opportunities
California is the third-largest state in terms of population and geographical area, but more importantly, it is the largest in terms of GDP (over $4.1 trillion in 2025). 4
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6 major metropolitan areas
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25 domestic and international airports, 62 special-use airports 5
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22 federal air bases
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25 freight railroads and 4,985 miles of track 6
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12 major seaports along 1,000 miles of Pacific coastline 7
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17 foreign trade zones 8
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58 Fortune 500 companies HQ in California 9
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4.3 million small businesses are located in California, making it the top state for number of small businesses 10
As of 2025, real estate and finance are the largest contributors to the state’s GDP at 18%, according to the Public Policy Institute of California.
NAIOP figures indicate that direct spending on California CRE including site development, hard costs, and tenant improvements, was $34.18 billion in 2025.
Major CRE markets in California
As of February 2026, Biscred’s prospecting database houses contact information for 78,050 CRE companies that operate in California, the majority of which (50,050) are headquartered there. Biscred’s subscribers can access contact information for over 675,000 CRE professionals who are located in or do business within the state as well.
In the table, you’ll find data for California’s largest metropolitan markets for office space square feet, multifamily units, retail square footage and industrial square footage. Data provided by NAR Commercial Real Estate Report Q3 2025.
Metropolitan Area | Office Sq Ft | Multifamily Units | Retail Sq Ft | Industrial Sq Ft |
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LA-Long Beach-Anaheim | 447,296,461 | 1,055,613 | 445,052,946 | 960,404,599 |
Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario | 78,947,678 | 180,174 | 204,295,994 | 791,694,866 |
Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom | 112,766,853 | 145,487 | 112,138,098 | 196,303,843 |
San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad | 121,389,834 | 287,041 | 136,678,169 | 216,089,216 |
San Francisco-Oakland-Berkeley | 194,310,393 | 190,218 | 75,761,042 | 102,216,524 |
San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara | 147,228,812 | 163,563 | 79,289,441 | 200,228,864 |
Examples of CRE Developers in California
The Irvine Company
This Orange County commercial real estate company has properties in California, Chicago and New York, offering flexible workspaces, sustainability and the “workplace of the future.” Their assets under management include more than 150 workspaces, more than 54 million square footage, and over 3,000 tenants.
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HQ: Newport Beach, California
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REIF, operator, developer
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Retail, office, entertainment facilities, hospitality, multifamily, and industrial
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1,420 contacts for The Irvine Company on Biscred
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764 estimated properties in portfolio
Notable projects 11
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Promenade at Irvine Spectrum, an apartment community offering high-speed fiber internet in a resort-style setting adjacent to shopping and entertainment facilities
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Fashion Island at Newport Beach, a high-end outdoor shopping mall with 150 stores and restaurants
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Santa Clara Square Offices, a modern office park with one 8-story and seven 6-story buildings and onsite conveniences like auto detailing, EV charging and The Kitchen
BioMed Realty
A Blackstone Real Estate portfolio company, BioMed Realty specializes in life science and tech properties. They have 17 million square feet of assets under management in the hottest life science regions: Boston/Cambridge, San Francisco, San Diego, Seattle, Boulder and Cambridge U.K. Their properties include flexible research and laboratory spaces.
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HQ: San Diego, California
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REIF, operator, developer
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Life sciences, office, and mixed use
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179 contacts for BioMed staff on Biscred
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5 locations in 3 states and the U.K.
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130 estimated properties
Notable projects 12
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i3, a life science campus of 3 buildings and 316,262 sq ft in San Diego that includes outdoor auditoriums, green rooftop gardens, and modular flexibility for tenants
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Granta Park, a 120-acre, 13-building science park in Cambridge, U.K.
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Dexter Yard, a 522,486-sq ft mixed-use office-retail building in Seattle’s South Lake Union
Examples of California CRE Operators & Property Managers
The Macerich Company
Primarily known for its portfolio of shopping centers, Macerich is a publicly traded company (NYSE:MAC) with CRE in Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Texas and Virginia.
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HQ: Santa Monica, California
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Operator, developer, REIT
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Retail, mixed-use, hospitality, office and multifamily
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418 contacts on Biscred
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6 locations
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40 estimated properties
Notable properties 13
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Scottsdale Fashion Square, a 1.8-million square foot indoor luxury shopping mall in Arizona
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Kierland Commons, also in Scottsdale, Arizona, this mixed-use outdoor shopping mall includes 84 luxury residential condos
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Tysons Corner Center in Virginia boasts 1.1 square feet of retail space plus hotel, office space and residential high rise apartments
National Community Renaissance Development (aka National CORE)
This REIF, developer and operator specializes in affordable housing, and many of their projects involved converting unused CRE and converting it into safe, affordable and transition housing.
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HQ: Rancho Cucamonga, California
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REIF, operator and developer
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Affordable housing, senior living, multifamily, office, mixed-use and industrial
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136 contacts for National CORE on Biscred
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103 estimated properties
Notable projects 14
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Legacy Square, an award-winning 93-unit affordable housing apartment complex in Santa Ana, California
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The Iris, a 100-unit apartment complex in San Diego for people earning at or below 60% of the area’s median income
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Casa Luna, part of National CORE’s portfolio of former hotels that have been converted into transitional housing
Examples of CRE Investors in California
ExchangeRight Real Estate
This Pasadena, California, REIT has $7.1 billion AUM across 357 properties in 47 states, including net-leased and value-add properties. Net-leased portfolios include corporate tenants Kroger, Walgreens, Dollar General and Tractor Supply. Value-add portfolio includes inline and outparcel retail spaces. Their tenants include grocery stores, convenience stores, big box retailers, walk-in medical clinics, banks, specialty retailers and more.
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HQ: Pasadena, California
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REIT
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Retail and healthcare
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108 contacts on Biscred
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1,200 estimated properties
Notable tenants 15
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Whole Foods Market
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Walmart
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Publix
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Sam’s Club
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Verizon Wireless
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Citizens Bank
Innovative Industrial Properties
This San Diego-based REIT/operator specializes in leasing property to regulated, state-licensed cannabis operators in 19 states (as of February 2026). They report $2.47 billion in invested capital for 112 properties leased by 36 tenants.
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HQ: San Diego, California
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REIT, operator
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Industrial, healthcare
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16 contacts on Biscred
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112 estimated properties in Innovate Industrial Properties’ portfolio
Notable projects 16
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PharmaCann in Buckeye Lake Village, Ohio, an indoor growing facility for cultivating, processing and manufacturing cannabis products
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Calyx Peak in Smithville, Missouri, which uses innovative cannabis waste management to eliminate carbon and methane emissions
Additional Insights | California CRE Landscape
California Population Stats 17
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State population: 39,528,899
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Counties with largest population growth (2024 to 2025):
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Place 1.26%
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Yuba 1.21%
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Madera 0.98%
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San Benito 0.95%
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Sacramento 0.74%
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Fastest growing cities with populations over 30,000 18
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Paradise 9.94%
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Lathrop 6.7%
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Shafter 2.87%
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Menifee 2.87%
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Lincoln 2.72%
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CRE Markets Worth Watching in California
San Francisco Bay Area
All three metro markets listed here — SF Bay, San Diego and OC — are among the country’s most expensive places to live, but they all get high marks for quality of life, which make them great opportunities for CRE retail, healthcare, life sciences and office. The San Francisco Bay area (which is number 3 on the most expensive places to live in the U.S. by home prices)19 remains an important tech hub in the United States, and is number two in the country for life science research talent. Median home prices are $1,195,000. Like a lot of major metropolitan areas, San Francisco has seen a number of retailers leaving its downtown, as shoppers shift to online markets and leave brick-and-mortar. With demand for office, multifamily and retail spaces weaker than national in this area, opportunities for CRE redevelopment may be worth seeking here. Indeed, San Francisco had 6 million square feet of office space under construction as of December 2025.20
San Diego
Coming in at number 7 on the most expensive places to live based on housing and rental costs is San Diego where median home prices are $820,016. Like many of California’s coastal cities, San Diego is among the top places in the country for access to life science research talent (eighth in the U.S.). Demand for multifamily, industrial, retail, and office spaces in San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad tends to be weaker than the nationwide average.20 The San Diego area has slowed in job growth in 2025, with 62% fewer jobs than 2024. The area is also notable for its office space under construction; as of 2025, San Diego had 1.21 million square feet of office space under construction, making it sixth in the country and second in California.21
Los Angeles
L.A. is the second-most expensive city in the U.S. by home prices, cost of living, and inflation (only behind New York City) but it’s also a top opportunity for commercial real estate businesses. Los Angeles and Orange County together come in fifth place for life sciences markets. Demand for office, multifamily, retail and industrial CRE tend to be weaker than national averages;20 however, several industry experts remain optimistic, citing an improving sales market, and buyers seizing long-term CRE opportunities. Office space vacancy was at 15.6% in the first quarter of 2025 (national average was 18.4%),20, 22 and 2.02 million square feet of office space was under construction.
CRE Resources | California
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Other State CRE Market Data
Sources
Photo 135881649 | California | Gino Rigucci | Dreamstime.com
1 Cushman & Wakefield, San Francisco Marketbeat Reports, 2026-01-14, accessed 2026-02-15
2 Accio, los angeles commercial real estate market trends, 2026-01-05, accessed 2026-02-15
3 Kidder, San Diego Industrial Market Report, 4th Quarter 2025, accessed 2026-02-15
4 Los Angeles Times, California overtakes Japan to become world’s fourth-largest economy. But tariffs pose threat, 2025-04-24, accessed 2026-02-15
5 Caltrans Division of Aeronautics, Aviation in California: Fact Sheet (March 2022), accessed 2026-02-15
6 GoRail, California STATS, accessed 2026-02-15
7 LAO, Overview of California’s Ports, 2022-08-23, accessed 2026-02-15
8 California Chamber of Commerce, Foreign Trade Zones, accessed 2026-02-15
9 Governor Gavin Newsom, California leads the nation — again — with most Fortune 500 companies, 2025-06-04, accessed 2026-02-15
10 US Small Business Administration Office of Advocacy, 2025 Small Business Profile, accessed 2026-02-15
11 The Irvine Company, accessed 2026-02-06
12 BioMed Realty, accessed 2026-02-06
13 Macerich, accessed 2026-02-06
14 National CORE, accessed 2026-02-06
15 ExchangeRight, Tenant Profiles, accessed 2026-02-06
16 Innovative Industrial Properties, 2023 IIP Sustainability Report, accessed 2026-02-06
17 California Department of Finance, census bureau data, 2026-02-04, accessed 2026-02-15
18 World Population Review, Fastest Growing Cities in California (2026), accessed 2026-02-15
19 Simplify Home Loans, The 10 Most Expensive Cities in the U.S. - Simplify Home Loans, 2024-07-09, accessed 2026-02-15
20 NAR, Commercial Real Estate Metro Market Dashboard accessed 2026-02-15
21 Commercial Cafe, Construction Starts Pick Up, Office Prices Begin Rebound, 2026-02-19
22 Kidder, Los Angeles Industrial Market Trends, Q4 2025, accessed 2026-02-15