Economic Trends | RECAP

The Los Angeles Business Journal was excited to host the 2023 Economic Trends virtual discussion event on Wednesday afternoon, February 1st.

The event featured two lively virtual panel discussions featuring leading experts on the hottest topics on the minds of LA area business leaders at the start of this year. The panels offered an insightful look back on the unprecedented challenges and silver linings of the past couple of years while providing a deep dive into the economic trends we are facing moving forward into 2023.

Our outstanding group of panelists and moderators examined the issues as they shared their experiences and predictions for the year to come. The panels this year focused on the hot-button topics of “The Real Estate Question: What’s Actually Happening?” and “Trends to Expect in 2023,” with expert insights and analysis about the impact current trends are likely to have on the overall economic climate.

The Real Estate panel, moderated by Jim Kruse, the regional president, greater LA, for Kidder Matthews, featured a spirited discussion containing shared knowledge from Erica Finck of Cushman & Wakefield; Sean Fulp of Colliers; Martin Griffiths of KPMG; and Kofi Nartey of Globl Red.

Each of the experts weighed in on a variety of hot real estate issues and talking points, including:
•  Office utilization and how safety and cleanliness impacts interest in coming to
the office;
•  The role of public transportation in Los Angeles;
•  An analysis of the tax property basis for DTLA, the amount of TIER 1 and 2 buildings, and what happens to that tax base when the values reset to something much lower;
•  An analysis of sales and hotel taxes which would be tied to retail sales and hotel occupancy;
•  The likelihood of workouts or foreclosures over the next 12 months;
•  What can be done to attract tenants and/or reduce vacancy rates;
•  Forthcoming opportunities in the market;
•  How buyers and sellers navigate through an uncertain economic environment;
•  How developers, large and small, navigate through today’s market; and
•  The various impacts of Measure ULA.

Immediately following the eye-opening real estate conversation, the Los Angeles Business Journal audience was treated to an equally in-depth and timely group roundtable on what trends we can expect to see in the coming 12 months.

The Outlook panel, moderated by Elsa R. Burton, the Los Angeles regional manager of Fifth Third Bank, featured expert insights from Kevin Conner of Conner Advisory Group LLC; Larry Holt of the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corporation; and Brian Oard of Wilmington Trust.

Each of these professionals weighed in on a number of discussion topics, including:
•  Whether the Fed will continue to increase rates and what affect it will have on inflation;
•  The status of the consumer products market, including specialty retail – and the near-term outlook for commercial retail including a further push into on-line e-commerce;
•  The federal tax landscape outlook for 2023 as we approach a presidential election in 2024;
•  The continued impact the pandemic will have on the relationship between employees and their employers;
•  How LA County ranks nationally for job growth;
•  The pros and cons to doing business in LA County;
•  Successful models of progressive economic development;
•  The impact of labor regulations and cost of labor;
•  How increased regulation, litigation from trial lawyers, cost of living, crime and traffic has impacted the ability for small businesses to compete in our state;
• …and much more!

Many thanks to our excellent panelists, who took the time to share their insights on the biggest headlines and where the market is going in 2023.

A recap video of the discussion is available here.

THE REAL ESTATE QUESTION: WHAT’S ACTUALLY HAPPENING?