Southern California Real Estate Job Growth Slows to a Crawl

The real estate industry in Southern California is experiencing a significant slowdown in job growth, according to recent data. In February 2024, the number of property-linked jobs in Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, and San Bernardino counties only increased by 1,300, compared to an average of 7,500 new jobs in February in the years before the pandemic.

Overall, the real estate sector in Southern California added just 1,100 positions in the past year, a stark contrast to the average of 13,900 new hires annually since the Great Recession. This sluggish growth can be attributed to higher mortgage rates, which have increased financing costs and slowed down construction projects and transactions.

Despite the slowdown in real estate job growth, the industry still accounts for 9.5% of local employment in February 2024. However, real estate hiring only made up 3% of all new jobs in the region for the month and 2% of total hires over the year, compared to an average of 11% since 2010.

Key real estate niches in the region also saw mixed results in February. Trade construction specialists, building services, and real estate services experienced slight gains, while lending and building supplies saw declines in employment.

Geographically, Los Angeles County had 361,000 real estate jobs, Orange County had 212,600, and the Inland Empire had 180,200. Each region had varying levels of job growth or decline, with Orange County experiencing a slight decrease in real estate jobs over the past year.

Overall, the real estate industry in Southern California is facing challenges in job growth, with the effects of higher mortgage rates and slower transactions impacting employment in the sector.