LOS ANGELES-Speakers at a commercial real estate forecastpresented recently at the Downtown Breakfast Club expect risingoffice vacancies and a slow recovery for retail, but the outlookfor the multifamily sector is promising. Three veterans of theindustry presented their outlooks on the downtown office leasingmarket, the retail outlook and the prospects for multifamily.

Steve Marcussen, Cushman & Wakefield executive director,told the Breakfast Club audience that, “The current climate ofeconomic uncertainty, exacerbated by looming tax hikes and murkyimplications of new healthcare legislation for small business, havecreated a standstill in leasing.” Marcussen said that the verallvacancy rate is 16.5%, including a vacancy factor of 17.5 % forclass A buildings, and those percentages are expected to rise.

James Rabe, senior vice president of real estate research firmKeyser Marston, delivered the outlook for retail. He said thatretail activity in Downtown and the region will recover slowly fromits current depressed levels. “It is likely to be three to sixyears before retail returns to its 2008 levels,” he said.