Demand for Orange County industrial space remained healthy in 2019 as vacancy rates ended another year in record-low territory at 2.9 percent, fueled by a strong second-half net absorption. The movement in the second half of 2019 was largely a result of the Fed’s decision to keep interest rates low, which provided assurance for buyers that had been on the fence. The attractive interest rates have led to steady price increases, however, adaptation has been slow. The average time on the market has increased by roughly 30 to 60 days from 2018. Many buyers also struggled with post-close deferred maintenance. With the typical industrial building in Orange County being construction in 1985, buyers are often challenged with renovation costs adding to their bottom lines. Meanwhile, landlords in 2019 became more conservative in rent demands as average gains in asking full-service rents fell to 4.2 percent countywide, compared to 4.9 percent in 2018. Leasing activity remained steady with an average asking rate across Orange County of about $1 per square foot, triple net. A handful of notable new construction projects advanced in 2019. In the fourth quarter, 10 buildings totaling nearly 1.2 million square feet were completed in North Orange County, …
The Kansas City industrial real estate market recorded very healthy maturation in 2019. When surveying the strength of our market, we typically consider how many new tenants or users entered the market with major investments and how many development deals were announced. Diving into the analytics, it is exciting to see some disciplined characteristics of a solid industrial market, including a slight slowdown in the pace of market expansion, a diverse group of business types demanding space, and the swift adjustment to appropriately balance supply and demand. Users entering the market The highlight reel of industrial deals in 2019 was impressive. Notable transactions include a new 420,000-square-foot water bottling plant for Niagara in South Kansas City, a 2 million-square-foot logistics hub expansion for Kubota Tractor Corp., and a 765,000-square-foot food distribution center for Hostess Brands. Additionally, Walmart just announced plans for a 1.8 million-square-foot distribution center to add to its existing three distribution centers in the area. A variety of new auto suppliers have absorbed over 1 million square feet of space to serve the Ford and General Motors automotive plants. I’m often asked what industries are moving to Kansas City and my response is all of them. The type …
Phoenix’s industrial inventory is undergoing a period of growth due to the delivery of 2.2 million square feet of new product in the third quarter of 2019 and more than 4.7 million year to date (as of late November). In fact, the market has seen the highest amount of total industrial development year to date since 2007. While these deliveries have increased the industrial vacancy rate slightly, the overall vacancy rate for the area remains low at less than 7 percent. Absorption has been strong and is expected to remain so for the near future. Rental rates also continue to rise, though they are still at a considerable discount to many other West Coast markets. A high amount of development activity is still occurring, particularly in the southern portion of Phoenix. Much of this development is speculative rather than build-to-suit, which indicates developers are confident in the demand for industrial space in this market. Major factors for our growth have been significant job creation and in-migration of both residents and businesses, which have led to growth in industrial and construction jobs in the region. In fact, Greater Phoenix remains one of the top five metros for job creation in the …
Pricing for industrial distribution and warehouse properties has climbed in many U.S. markets over the past 12 months as investors have continued to focus on markets tied to large population centers and their connections to logistics and e-commerce spaces. According to an Avison Young Industrial Investment Review, prices in the Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW) market rose the most out of the major industrial markets reviewed, increasing 20 percent to $85 per square foot. Prices for DFW industrial assets rose more than those in New York/Northern New Jersey (15.9 percent to $167), Miami (14.8 percent to $140), Los Angeles (11.6 percent to $168), and California’s Inland Empire (7.5 percent to $123). The review analyzed data from Real Capital Analytics (RCA) from the fourth quarter of 2018 to the third quarter of 2019. Strong population growth in North Texas has generated demand for a wide range of industrial assets, including e-commerce, and has propelled DFW into the spotlight for global investors. The market benefits from solid infrastructure, with four major intermodal terminals and the massive DFW International Airport helping position it as one of the nation’s largest inland ports. The DFW industrial market is also supported by strong job growth, construction activity, absorption …
Over the past decade, the way we shop has undoubtedly changed. With the evolution of e-commerce, subsequently, so has industrial real estate. Increasing delivery speeds and near-immediate access to goods have become top priorities for consumers, pushing retailers and their supply chains to follow suit. The demand for warehouse space in close proximity to major highways and transit hubs has steadily increased. These locations allow for faster and more efficient deliveries to the end user. Over the past five years, the industrial real estate sector has experienced healthy growth while other sectors have struggled to maintain demand, further showcasing the correlation of growth to the rise in e-commerce. As online retailers continue to competitively decrease their shipping windows — think Amazon’s and Walmart’s one-day shipping policies — demand for last-mile delivery facilities has risen. The last mile refers to the final movement of goods from a warehouse or distribution center to a final destination. The need for modernized, last-mile facilities has increased with the requirement to meet consumer demands and increase shipping speeds. Shifting Expectations Throughout the last few years, when it comes to shipping and delivery time frames, customer expectations have significantly increased. Ten years ago, it was expected …
Much of the national hype surrounding the growth in industrial development, investment and leasing activity in North Texas is centered on Dallas, a national leader in in-migration and employment growth across a variety of industries. The demographic and economic fundamentals of Dallas have made it a highly desirable market for e-commerce and third-party logistics users looking to service an ever-growing last-mile population. But beginning about four years ago, the dwindling supply of quality sites near the Dallas core began to generate rapid rent growth, causing priced-out developers and users to start looking westward. Fort Worth’s transition from a predominantly manufacturing market to a dynamic logistics and distribution hub began with Hillwood’s purchase of 15,000 acres for its AllianceTexas development in the mid 1980s. Since that time, Fort Worth has displayed a more aggressive stance on economic and industrial development. Both cities have long shared access to critical pieces of infrastructure — DFW International Airport, Interstates 20, 30 and 35 — as well as strong availability of land and a quality supply of laborers. But until recently, the growth paths always favored Dallas — the more gentrified of the two cities that was also a preferred destination for corporate relocations and …
The Inland Empire industrial market signaled that it may be transitioning toward slower growth in the second half of the year. Leasing volume declined sharply to nearly 7.8 million square feet, which is the lowest volume seen in a single quarter since 2011. New construction deliveries pushed the average rent to the highest level on record — $0.86 per square foot. Of the 13.7 million square feet completed year to date, 32 percent remained available at the end of the quarter. Despite the deliveries, vacancy remained steady at 4.5 percent since the third quarter of 2018, proving demand for industrial space in the Inland Empire is still present. The U.S. economy may be facing a drop off after climbing steadily for the past 10 years. The trade war and tariffs are undoubtedly influencing the ports’ cargo volume, which supports industrial demand in the Inland Empire. Retailers usually prepare for increased sales during the holiday season by increasing imports in July and August. However, imports through August 2019 were down 2.4 percent from 2018. Imports had increased 3.1 percent last year at this time. The U.S. is dependent on imported goods, though, so cargo volume is unlikely to take a significant …
Northern Nevada’s industrial market remains strong with more than 3.2 million square feet of new speculative space under construction and slated for delivery in 2020. These new projects will push the market well above the 90-million-square-footmark. The vacancy rate is a low 5.56 percent and continues to trend slightly upward. There have been some significant lease transactions in the market. Prologis is building a 598,901-square-foot facility for Makita Tools; Scannell just finished a 200,200-square-foot built-to-suit facility for OnTrac; and 1A Auto recently leased 149,196 square feet at 9175 Moya Blvd. All of these transactions occurred in the North Valleys submarket. The new 270,975-square-foot Longley Commerce Center by Panattoni leased up a majority of its space in the third quarter. This project is a mix of flex and bulk spaces, and is the last viable industrial development in the South Meadows submarket. Polaris completed its 514,555-square-foot BTS in Fernley in the second quarter, while a confidential user just leased 266,000 square feet in the I-80 East submarket. There have also been some significant portfolio sales to institutional buyers. The 1.4-million-square-foot Lear Industrial Center is slated to trade hands in the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual sold its 1,776,805-square-foot portfolio to Link Industrial …
All the recent talk in the Houston industrial market has focused on the amount of distribution space that is under construction or proposed for development. As a result, many industrial real estate professionals are worried about certain submarkets becoming overbuilt. This is a reasonable thought, given that Houston has more distribution space under construction than ever before — roughly 18 million square feet is under construction citywide, compared to the previous high in 2015 of 15 million square feet. However, there is also an exceptionally high level of demand in the market that could easily allow more than half of that space to be quickly absorbed once delivered. What is most promising about Houston’s industrial market — and what has also partially defined the evolution of this space — is the sheer volume of larger requirements. There are currently more than a dozen deals across the city involving users that are seeking anywhere from 400,000 to 1.5 million square feet. This certainly bodes well for Houston’s industrial distribution market, which continues to attract large-scale developers and tenants due to the growing local and regional population. Access to the Port of Houston — which is great for retailers looking for another …
Denver’s industrial real estate market continues to fire on all cylinders with 37 consecutive quarters of positive net absorption, record amounts of new supply and record-low cap rates for investment properties. The region’s industrial product has benefitted greatly from a strong and diversified economy, significant population growth both locally and regionally and the continued trend by companies to modify their supply chain to accommodate same-day deliveries. Demand has come from existing businesses that have grown organically and are now serving a larger market and carrying increased inventories. It has also come from new companies that hadn’t previously had distribution centers here but now need to serve the Colorado Front Range and the Rocky Mountain region. A new phenomenon that impacted the market recently is increased demand by tenants and users seeking build-to-suits rather than leasing or purchasing speculative buildings. One reason has been affordability, as some new developers and their capital partners have accepted significantly lower yields on cost in order to “build into” the market, compared to existing local developers that have historically commanded higher yields for speculative product. An example of this was a project built by Becknell/UBS that contained a 541,000-square-foot, cross-dock building. Haier (GE) Appliances pre-leased …