LOS ANGELES-The industrial market in Southern California had a strong year in 2011 and will gain further traction in the next 12 months. The local office market, however, continues to inch forward toward improvement and may not reach pre-crash levels of either vacancy and lease rates until 2015, according to the Casden Forecast, a project of the University of Southern California.

More sobering was the news that rent rates are barely rising, and in some cases falling, in most of the office markets in the region. Regions that had no new construction often reported the best absorption and rental growth.

Optimism and uncertainty were two themes emphasized by USC economist Tracey Seslen, co-author of the forecast with Richard Green, director of the USC Lusk Center for Real Estate. Troubles in the Eurozone, political turmoil in the Middle East and a slow recovery at home all could influence the real estate market negatively.