I just wanted to share a few of my Southern California trends as we start the second day of the ICSC Western Division conference. 

All indications show that the well-located, anchored shopping centers in core trade areas are seeing positive absorption and that rents and concessions have stabilized.  Long dormant tenants are beginning to expand again and value oriented tenants such as Family Dollar and Dollar General are making a substantial push into Southern California.  Regional and well-located neighborhood centers should continue to see increased activity through the end of 2012. 

Unanchored strip centers in secondary and tertiary trade areas continue to struggle as focus resides on “A” assets.  Lack of financing is also hindering the independent retailers, which is putting pressure on an already weak shop market for most projects.  Both trends are expected to continue for the forseeable future.

For those attending, I hope everyone has been having a successful conference and don’t forget to stop by the Jones Lang LaSalle booth. 

Bryan Cunningham
Jones Lang LaSalle
Retail Brokerage
tel +1(858) 410-1181
bryan.cunningham@am.jll.com