JLL: San Diego Construction Strong, but Challenges Persist

Life science in San Diego is one of the region’s hottest real estate sectors, and construction activity is solid, along with the tech and multifamily real estate sectors according to JLL’s Kirt Gilliland, Senior Vice President of Project and Development Services. There’s also good news in that material costs growth has normalized.

However, Gilliland notes that labor shortages continue to hamper the construction industry in a trend that has persisted during the pandemic. Several companies are now offering food and other incentives to get workers to work longer days and more days. On a national level, construction wages are lagging behind inflation, with real wage losses of roughly 1.9% since the start of the pandemic, according to the JLL report.

Meanwhile, lead times to get materials remains a major issues in San Diego, with items like generators, mechanical equipment and electrical switch gear components sometimes taking up to a year to acquire.