SANTA ANA, CA-The recovery of commercial real estate in 2012 will be strongest in high-tech cities and “gateway” communities, with Los Angeles as one the biggest investment magnet in both industrial and retail sectors, according to a new report from Grubb & Ellis.

Although the market remains vulnerable to a variety of economic and political factors, including high unemployment at home and economic turmoil in Europe, “we anticipate gradual improvement in leasing markets and a boost in investment sales volume," says Grubb & Ellis chief economist Robert Bach, the report author. He foresees GDP growth in the 2-2.5% range in the coming year, which is belong still below what he calls the economy's “long-term potential” of 3%. Bach also expects employment to rise to a net 125,000 payroll jobs per month.

Multi-housing tops the list of strong real estate sectors, followed by hospitality, industrial, retail and office. In the multi-family arena, the difficulty that many young people may have in qualifying for mortgages augurs well for the apartment industry. According to the report, the growth of the 18-to 34-year-old age group “ensure that this sector will continue to be one of the most popular and sought-after commercial real estate investments in 2012.”