California CRE Data: Markets and Trends Across America’s 3rd Largest State
Major CRE markets in California
As of May 2024, Biscred’s prospecting database houses contact information for 39,022 CRE companies that operate in California, the majority of which (36,023) are headquartered there. Biscred’s subscribers can access contact information for over 114,000 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 Q1 2024. (9)
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.
HQ: Newport Beach, California
REIF, operator, developer
Retail, office, entertainment facilities, hospitality, multifamily, and industrial
1,034 contacts for The Irvine Company on Biscred
764 estimated properties in portfolio
Notable projects (10)
Promenade at Irvine Spectrum, an apartment community offering high-speed fiber internet in a resort-style setting adjacent to shopping and entertainment facilities
Fashion Island at Newport Beach, a high-end outdoor shopping mall with 150 stores and restaurants
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 16.1 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.
HQ: San Diego, California
REIF, operator, developer
Life sciences, office, and mixed use
125 contacts for BioMed staff on Biscred
5 locations in 3 states and the U.K.
109 estimated properties
Notable projects (11)
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
Granta Park, a 120-acre, 13-building science park in Cambridge, U.K.
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.
HQ: Santa Monica, California
Operator, developer, REIT
Retail, mixed-use, hospitality, office and multifamily
319 contacts on Biscred
6 locations
45 estimated properties
Notable properties (12)
Scottsdale Fashion Square, a 1.8-million square foot indoor luxury shopping mall in Arizona
Kierland Commons, also in Scottsdale, Arizona, this mixed-use outdoor shopping mall includes 84 luxury residential condos
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.
HQ: Rancho Cucamonga, California
REIF, operator and developer
Affordable housing, senior living, multifamily, office, mixed-use and industrial
149 contacts for National CORE on Biscred
103 estimated properties
Notable projects (13)
Legacy Square, an award-winning 93-unit affordable housing apartment complex in Santa Ana, California
The Iris, a 100-unit apartment complex in San Diego for people earning at or below 60% of the area’s median income
Casa Luna, part of National CORE’s portfolio of former hotels that have been converted into transitional housing
Metropolitan Area | Office Sq Ft | Multifamily Units | Retail Sq Ft | Industrial Sq Ft |
LA-Long Beach-Anaheim | 439,599,285 | 1,031,824 | 453,580,971 | 959,142,149 |
Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario | 77,546,089 | 173,731 | 202,830,710 | 761,972,925 |
Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom | 109,831,457 | 141,332 | 112,083,330 | 193,323,332 |
San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad | 119,434,044 | 278,448 | 140,439,197 | 210,113,895 |
San Francisco-Oakland-Berkeley | 191,300,717 | 180,455 | 82,548,495 | 99,817,089 |
San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara | 145,632,253 | 157,04 | 81,088,631 | 198,998,385 |
Examples of CRE Investors in California
ExchangeRight Real Estate
This Pasadena, California, REIT has $5.9 billion and 24 million square feet AUM 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.
HQ: Pasadena, California
REIT
Retail and healthcare
90 contacts on Biscred
1,200 estimated properties
Notable tenants (14)
Whole Foods Market
Walmart
Publix
Sam’s Club
Verizon Wireless
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 May 2024). They report $2.43 billion in invested capital for 108 properties leased by 30 tenants.
HQ: San Diego, California
REIT, operator
Industrial, healthcare
12 contacts on Biscred
108 estimated properties in Innovate Industrial Properties’ portfolio
Notable projects (15)
PharmaCann in Buckeye Lake Village, Ohio, an indoor growing facility for cultivating, processing and manufacturing cannabis products
Calyx Peak in Smithville, Missouri, which uses innovative cannabis waste management to eliminate carbon and methane emissions
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Additional Insights | California CRE Landscape
California Population Stats (16)
State population: 39,128,162
Metro areas with largest population growth (2023 to 2024):
Bakersfield 0.8%
Fresno 0.7%
Anaheim 0.3%
Los Angeles 0.3%
Fastest growing cities with populations over 30,000
Lathrop 5.4%
Stanton 3.6%
Folsom 2.7%
Manteca 2.7%
Mountain View 2.5%
Coachella 2.4%
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.(17) The San Francisco Bay area (number 12 in USNews’ list of most expensive places to live) remains an important tech hub in the United States, and is number two in the country for life science research talent.(18) Median monthly residential rents here average $2,432. 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 (9), opportunities for CRE redevelopment may be worth seeking here. Indeed, San Francisco had 5.17 million square feet of office space under construction in June 2024, the most in California and the second-most in the U.S.(22)
San Diego
Coming in at 11th in USNews’ most expensive places to live is San Diego where median monthly rents are $2,284.(17) Like many of California’s coastal cities, San Diego is among the top places in the country for access to life science research talent (fifth out of 25).(18) Demand for office space in San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad tends to be higher than national average, while demand for multifamily, office and industrial space is slightly weaker.(9) The San Diego area was highlighted post-pandemic as being one of the hottest areas for adoption of artificial intelligence, especially in transportation, defense contracting, and autonomous driving.(19) The area is also notable for its office space under construction; as of June 2024, San Diego had 4.03 million square feet of office space under construction, making it fifth in the country and second in California.(22)
Los Angeles
L.A. is the second-most expensive city in the U.S. (first is Hartford, Connecticut), according to USNews, but it’s also a top opportunity for commercial real estate businesses (17). Los Angeles and Orange County together come in eighth place on CBRE’s list of top U.S. metro areas for life science talent.(18) Demand for office, multifamily, retail and industrial CRE tend to be weaker than national averages (9, 21); however, several industry experts remain optimistic, (20) citing increased port activities and an uptick in letters of intent. Office space vacancy was at 16.7% in the first quarter of 2024 (national average is 17.8%), and 1.57 million square feet of office space was under construction.(22)
CRE Resources | California
Bisnow - Los Angeles CRE News and Events
Bisnow - Orange County CRE News and Events
Bisnow - Bay Area Commercial Real Estate News and Events
California Department of Real Estate: Real Estate Business Resources
Sources
Photo 135881649 | California | Gino Rigucci | Dreamstime.com
1 BEA, Regional Data: GDP and Personal Income Mapping, SAGDP1 State annual gross domestic product (GDP) summary, accessed 2024-05-23
2 Aviation Caucus, Aviation in California Fact Sheet (February 2021), accessed 2024-05-23
3 GoRail, California STATS, accessed 2024-05-24
4 International Trade Administration, Foreign Trade Zones (state = CA), accessed 2024-05-24
5 Patch, 53 CA Companies Make Fortune 500 List for 2023, 2023-06-06, accessed 2024-05-24
6 PeopleKeep, Top U.S. states for small business growth, 2023-07-24, accessed 2024-05-24
7 NAIOP, Commercial real estate development provides valuable contributions to the U.S. economy (A Look at California), accessed 2024-05-23
8 NAIOP, Economic Impacts of Commercial Real Estate, 2024 U.S. Edition (California map), accessed 2024-05-23
9 National Association of Realtors, Commercial Real Estate Report Q1 2024 (California major metropolitan markets), accessed 2024-05-23
10 The Irvine Company, accessed 2024-05-24
11 BioMed Realty, accessed 2024-05-24
12 Macerich, accessed 2024-05-24
13 National CORE, accessed 2024-05-24
14 ExchangeRight, Tenant Profiles, accessed 2024-05-24
15 Innovative Industrial Properties, 2023 IIP Sustainability Report, accessed 2024-05-24
16 California Department of Finance, State’s Population Increases While Housing Grows Per New State Demographic Report (press release), 2024-04-30, accessed 2024-05-23
17 USNews, Most Expensive Places to Live 2024-2025, accessed 2024-06-21
18 CBRE, Top 25 U.S. Metros for Life Sciences Research Talent, accessed 2024-06-21
19 San Diego Business Journal, AI Fuels 10% Job Growth in SD’s Transportation Cluster — Even Amid Pandemic, 2022-01-14, accessed 2024-06-21
20 Kidder Mathews, Los Angeles Industrial Market Report 1st Quarter 2024, accessed 2024-06-21
21 Cushman & Wakefield, Marketbeat Los Angeles Office Q1 2024, accessed 2024-06-21
22 Commercial Edge, National Office Report June 2024, accessed 2024-06-21
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 $3.2 billion in 2023 1).
6 major metropolitan areas
27 commercial airports, 62 special-use airports (2)
22 federal air bases
27 freight railroads and 4,948 miles of track (3)
11 major seaports along 1,000 miles of Pacific coastline
17 foreign trade zones (4)
57 Fortune 500 (including 11 Fortune 100) companies HQ in California (5)
4.2 million small businesses are located in California, making it the top state for number of small businesses (6)
In 2023, commercial real estate in California contributed about $48.3 billion to the state’s economy, 289,930 jobs, and generated roughly $19.4 billion in salaries and wages. (7)
NAIOP figures indicate that direct spending on California CRE was $22.6 billion in 2023, and these were the top asset classes (8):
Warehouse: $8.8 billion
Office: $6.8 billion
Industrial: $5 billion
Retail: $2.02 billion