2014 was an exceptional year for sales and leasing activity for the Raleigh-Durham industrial market. Velocity in investment sales boomed in 2014 — the strongest year since 2006, and second strongest in history. Developers are actively seeking land to build new parks as demand for Class A industrial space outweighs supply and rental rates begin to rise. Although, the Raleigh-Durham MSA is a smaller industrial market in the region, it’s been ranked No. 1 by Forbes as the Best Place for Business and No. 2 for the Fastest Growing Large U.S. City from 2010-2030 by the United Nations Population Division. Companies continue to announce corporate relocations and expansions and unemployment is lower than the national average at 4.5 percent in October. EDM America relocated its $150 million headquarters operation to Raleigh from Pennsylvania. Argos Therapeutics announced an expansion project in Durham — a $57 million bio-manufacturing plant. The area has also seen an influx of third-party logistics companies, moving companies and suppliers for the home building industry opening new locations and consolidating to larger blocks of space. As user demand continues, there is a strong desire by investors to become a part of our market or expand their current footprint. …
The Southern California Leading Economic Indicator is continuing its upward trend. It has been on the incline for more than four years, since the last decrease in 2009. This suggests a rise in economic activity over the next six months that will continue the solid fundamentals for the Orange County industrial market well into 2015. A near record low industrial vacancy rate of 3.5 percent, along with an unemployment rate of less than 6 percent, has caused an aggressive search for viable land amongst developers. Numerous cities in Orange County have modified their industrial zoning regulations this year to permit a variety of additional uses that encourage new development. As a result, residential and retail property developers have been removing existing industrial buildings from current inventory. Growing companies in Orange County are starting to feel the inventory squeeze. The lack of available space is making it difficult to meet a client’s needs. This is causing landlords, buyers and tenants to make extensive renovations to the few buildings left available to them. The limited supply has been a major factor in the increase in value for larger assets, as clients are willing to pay more for properties. Sale prices are up …
The Kansas City industrial market continues to be an incredibly strong performer. At the end of the third quarter of 2014, the industrial vacancy rate stood at a tight 6.1 percent. Absorption totaled more than 2.5 million square feet during the first nine months of the year, while new deliveries were slightly over 2.6 million square feet in the same period. Let’s examine some contributing factors that are encouraging new deliveries while still driving vacancy rates down and absorption up. Spec Is King The biggest story in the Kansas City industrial real estate market during the first three quarters of 2014 was the delivery of over 2.5 million square feet of Class A distribution facilities on a speculative basis. It can be argued that, in the past, many prospective tenants considered locating a distribution center in Kansas City, but they ultimately selected a different market based on a lack of available inventory and the inability of some companies to wait on the extended timetable for a build-to-suit project. Developers that took notice of this trend and reacted by delivering space to the local market are currently being rewarded for their actions. Much of the speculative development in 2014 centered around …
BOULDER, COLO. – Walnut Business Center, a 113,594-square-foot industrial/flex property in Boulder, has received $6.5 million in permanent financing. The center is located at 3201-3297 Walnut Street, 3220-3240 Prairie Ave. and 1925-1965 33rd Street. The eight-tenant center is fully leased. Financing was arranged by Steve Bye and Brian Fisher of NorthMarq Capital’s Denver office through the firm’s correspondent relationship with a life insurance company.
It’s no secret that with the abundance of developable land, affordable housing, and close proximity to the ports and major freeways, the Inland Empire has a tremendous advantage in relation to other Western markets. The Inland Empire industrial market has experienced a transactional volume of 120 deals for 100,000 square feet or more, as of this past November. There are also more than 30 buildings under construction, which total more than 15 million square feet. Developers have been quick to respond to demand, with about 15.5 million square feet of construction completed in the Inland Empire to date, thanks to Fortune 500 retailers and third-party logistics (3PL) firms nabbing large space within the market due to an improving economy. With another 15 million square feet currently under construction, the Inland Empire’s industrial base will foreseeably increase by 10 percent by the end of 2016. Assuming the current state of economic growth continues, the Inland Empire industrial market is expected to finish 2014 strong, with positive market activity poised to continue well into 2015 and 2016. The industrial demand in the Inland Empire is closely associated to international trade and continues to attract large distributors, warehouses, e-commerce companies and logistics firms …
Over the last four years, North Florida’s industrial market appears to have stabilized. While rental rates remain flat offering a variety of expansion opportunities for users and tenants, rental increases and new construction opportunities may be right around the corner. Consider the facts: the Jacksonville industrial vacancy rate now hovers around 8.5 percent, the lowest in the last five years and down from a high of 11.4 percent in 2010. Rental rates, now in the $3.98 per square foot range for the last two quarters, have stabilized from a high of $4.38 per square foot reported in the first quarter of 2010, according to CoStar. Because of a finite supply, with an increase in demand for Class B and Class C space, a rent increase may be in the forecast. Add with the lack of choices for large blocks of Class A space, expect more build-to-suit activity, or speculative construction. In 2014, two speculative industrial projects were announced in Jacksonville. In order to meet a contractual construction deadline within the city of Jacksonville’s master developer agreement, Hillwood Investment Properties launched a 510,000-square-foot cross-dock project at Alliance Florida. Hillwood was chosen as the master developer of Alliance Florida, formerly Cecil Commerce …
TRENTON, MICH. — Friedman Integrated Real Estate Solutions has brokered the sale of R & A Storage, a 230-unit industrial self-storage building in Trenton. Land Holding LLC sold the building, located at 5620 Hoover St., to Ariganello Management LLC. Paul Feldman of Friedman represented the seller in the transaction.
Buoyed by a healthy economy, the Twin Cities industrial market has experienced strong demand for functional, 24- to 32-foot clear height space, with more companies expanding during the first three quarters of the year, according to Cushman & Wakefield | NorthMarq. The market posted nearly 1.3 million square feet of absorption in the first three quarters of 2014, a solid number. The overall vacancy rate for multi-tenant properties 20,000 square feet and above stood at 10.1 percent at the end of the third quarter, down from a high of 16.4 percent in 2010. The bulk/warehouse segment has posted the most leasing activity with 451,097 square feet of net absorption year-to-date, including 140,514 square feet in the third quarter, and a tight 9.2 percent vacancy rate. Office/warehouse absorption totaled 476,032 square feet year-to-date through the third quarter, and 391,676 square feet in the third quarter alone, lowering the vacancy rate in that segment to 9.6 percent. Office/showroom absorption totaled 359,687 square feet during the first three quarters of 2014, lowering the vacancy rate in that segment to 12.8 percent, the lowest since 2006 when it stood at 11.7 percent. The Northeast submarket posted 222,267 square feet of net absorption in the …
NAPA, CALIF. – Western Wine Distribution warehouse, a 196,800-square-foot industrial property near Napa, has received an $8-million refinance. The property is located at 1275 Commerce Blvd. The loan contains a 10-year term and a 25-year amortization schedule. It was arranged by Robert R. Hervey of NorthMarq Capital’s Los Angeles office through the firm’s correspondent relationship with Nationwide Life Insurance Company.
The Phoenix industrial market is definitely following national trends in terms of recovery. Since 2010, U.S. industrial markets have seen rising demand trends with supply additions that have not kept pace. Demand for newer, Class A industrial space, as well as for use-specific space, is outpacing supply and encouraging more build-to-suit and speculative development activity across markets. Developers have shown discipline so far, however, as the amount of new supply added to the market since 2010 is well below the levels seen during previous expansionary periods. These trends are manifesting themselves in a variety of ways in Metro Phoenix. First, it’s clear that demand is definitely up. The industrial market has seen significant activity over the past several quarters. Leases for spaces between 20,000 and 200,000 square feet have totaled more than 10.5 million square feet since January 2013. Deals of this size have totaled more than 1.4 million square feet of absorption this year alone. This is important to note because the overall health of the Metro Phoenix industrial market has historically been supported by midsized users. This size range shows no signs of slowing as we round out 2014 and head into 2015. In fact, we know of …