Los Angeles Times
November 05, 2009

By Roger Vincent

...Among those poised to leap is real estate fund manager Xavier Gutierrez of Phoenix Realty Group. The New York-based firm is sitting on $450 million it has ready to buy real estate, including $170 million earmarked for the Los Angeles area. The money will be invested on behalf of pension funds and insurance companies, he said.

The current real estate scene is "definitely grim," he said, but the outlook for three years from now and beyond is much better.

Southern California has a young population that is still growing from new births and immigration. Apartments may be the first commercial real estate category to recover as a large cohort of people in their 20s leave home or stop doubling up with roommates when their economic status improves, Gutierrez said. The region also is well-positioned for recovery in international trade through the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach and local airports, he said...