Downtown L.A. becoming residential hotspot

From left, Downtown Los Angeles, a loft apartment in the neighborhood
From left, Downtown Los Angeles, a loft apartment in the neighborhood

Downtown Los Angeles is facing an influx of new residents. As a result, the area is seeing the development of new luxury condominiums, new restaurants and new nightclubs catering to a more affluent crowd.

The appetite for luxury housing in downtown Los Angeles is reaching an all-time high as the area’s population has nearly tripled to 52,400 people over the past 14 years, according to the Downtown Center Business Improvement District.

Although the revitalization of downtown Los Angeles hasn’t been overnight, its momentum has picked up in recent months. In the past five years, the area has seen the emergence of more than 500 new restaurants, bars, nightclubs and retail shops.

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Developers are struggling to keep up with the influx of new residents. Although more than 5,000 apartments are under construction downtown, with another 13,000 proposed, new condo inventory is at record lows, with fewer than 30 new condos currently available for sale in the area, according to real estate consultant Alan Mark, down 82% compared with a year ago.

Prices, meanwhile, are up 8%. And vacancy rates are down to 4.4% from 9.7% five years ago, according to Richard Green, director of the University of Southern California’s Lusk Center for Real Estate. [WSJ] —TRD