The Southern California could return to normalcy by the summer, according to SoCal NAIOP CEO Tim Jemal, who sees a light at the end of the tunnel, thanks to the vaccine rollout and improving market fundamentals.

"The 2021 outlook is pretty good for commercial real estate in Southern California," Jemal tells GlobeSt.com. "We are starting to see a glimmer of light at the end of the COVID-19 tunnel. Despite a slow start, the vaccine is being deployed throughout Southern California, which raises hope for some normalcy by summer. There is already a second round of Paycheck Protection funding and it looks like there will be a third tranche of federal COVID relief funding coming from Washington."

Jemal's optimism extends across asset classes in Southern California, which is good news for the region's diverse investor pool. Of course, industrial is taking the lead. "There is no question that the industrial sector enters 2021 with the wind at their back driven by e-commerce," says Jemal. "We expect demand for industrial and logistics assets will remain strong throughout the year propelled by online sales and parcel deliveries."