While there is a lot of hope for improvement and recovery in 2021, uncertainty is still rampant through the industry. While the new Presidential administration and the ongoing pandemic are giving investor's pause, varied local and government responses to pandemic are the biggest uncertainty investors are facing today.

"Likely biggest uncertainties and challenges facing commercial real estate in Southern California come from state and local governments.," Tim Jemal, CEO, NAIOP SoCal, tells GlobeSt.com. "Eviction moratoriums, potential tax increases by cities to offset declines in sales tax revenues, opposition to needed in-fill warehouse space in CBDs and misplaced hostility to commercial real estate are matters of substantial concern."

In Southern California, the South Coast Air Quality Management District's new indirect source air quality rule is a primary example, according to Jemal. The rule will regulate and tax warehouses, and Jemal says that it could put upward pressure on retail prices and consumer goods. "This rule will be taken up in April by the SCAQMD Board and require warehouse owners and operators to either reduce truck emissions or pay substantial fees to SCAQMD," he says. "The rule would impose additional, permanent costs on warehouses of approximately $.90 per square foot, totaling close to $1 billion annually. Most warehouses will end up paying the fee because it will not be feasible or possible to comply with the regulation mandates."