Industrial land pricing and lease rates map with estimated drayage costs (per container).

Industrial land pricing and lease rates map with estimated drayage costs (per container).

Nowhere in the country is as hot as Southern California’s Inland Empire for industrial real estate.

Industrial land pricing and lease rates map with estimated drayage costs (per container).

Santa Ana City Council members have put up dozens of parcels of public land along Bristol Street for development, setting clear goalposts for developers hoping to claim a stake along the bustling corridor.

The city of Anaheim has struck a deal to sell three city-owned parking lots totaling 16 acres around the Honda Center Area for $10.1M.  The site will be entitled for urban-style homes, office, entertainment and commercial uses however the city has agreed that the best use of the site would probably be for the development of an entertainment and retail destination.

With an overall lack of industrial inventory, the result is an increase of lease rates and sale prices rising a healthy 7% compared with this time last year. Vacancies are low, demand is strong, and it’s a landlord’s market. Competition is high among companies in search of functional buildings, as the inventory is slim compared with neighboring Inland Empire and Los Angeles, which can both accommodate a more significant industrial presence.

The Orange County economy is expected to continue its upward trend through 2018, with supply constraints and conversions from industrial to other property types playing key roles in tightening Orange County’s fundamentals.

Prologis Inc. agreed to buy logistics-property owner DCT Industrial Trust Inc.  for $8.4 billion including debt, as a surge in e-commerce ramps up demand for warehouses and distribution centers.

As we head into the second quarter of 2018, the Orange County industrial market is exhibiting many characteristics similar to 2017, most notably a continued decrease in vacancy and a subsequent increase in net occupancy, which are contributing to an increase in asking lease rates.

Industrial land pricing and lease rates map with estimated drayage costs (per container).

Southern California’s job picture continues to brighten as unemployment remains low and payroll positions are added at a steady pace.  Orange County’s unemployment remains the lowest in the area at a low 3.1% compared with 3.8% year-over-year.

When it comes to funding, developers are more likely to get a loan from a lender for an industrial or multifamily development than in other sectors.

SteelWave LLC is part of an investment group that paid $65 million for the former Los Angeles Times printing plant site in Costa Mesa located at 1350 South Coast Drive.

Liberty Property Trust has purchased a 400,100 SF industrial building in the City of Commerce for $92.7 Million, roughly $232.00 PSF.  The fully leased facility is located at 5959 Randolph St., east of the 710 Freeway and South of Slauson Ave.

Industrial land pricing and lease rates map with estimated drayage costs (per container).

REIT remains in capital recycling mode, looking to sell off former AMB assets while redeploying proceeds into new development as warehouse demand remains hot.

Three firms have inked leases for industrial facilities in SoCal owned by BLT Enterprises, in deals totaling over 106k sf of space. The buildings have been leased to three global companies with very specific requirements, according to Bernard Huberman, Founder and President of BLT Enterprises.

Vacancy With low vacancy rates and a demand for industrial space, new users are finding it challenging to locate space and existing users are having a difficult time expanding operations. With limited new product coming online and tenants electing to recommit or to renew in larger blocks of space, expect vacancy rates to remain below 2.1% well into 2018.

Economists expect a strong year for Orange County in 2018.  An increase in residential and multifamily permits will drive job growth in the construction industry in Orange County, building a strong outlook for the county for the commercial real estate industry in particular.

Terreno Realty Corp paid $12.9M for a 5.1-acre industrial site in the city of Carson.  The property was sold by Wilson Properties, a subsidiary of Distribution Now.

The economy added 228,000 jobs in November, slightly outpacing analysts’ expectations, and unemployment held steady at 4.1 percent – part of an overall increase of 2.5 percent since last November.  November’s jobs report shows steady growth fueled by optimism about the pro-growth, pro-jobs policies currently being advanced by government, and since January, the economy has added 1.7 million jobs.

An 8.6 acre site in Anaheim’s Platinum Triangle is being considered for a variety of new commercial real estate development options following its recent sale.

Industrial land pricing and lease rates map with estimated drayage costs (per container).

Blackstone Group purchased a $500M industrial portfolio in Southern California from Principal Real Estate Investors, the real estate investment arm of Principal Financial Group.  The 4 million square foot portfolio includes warehouses, distribution centers and other industrial property, and supports Blackstone’s effort to amass property in the U.S. and Europe that supports logistics operations.

The third quarter’s largest industrial lease by square footage was an Amazon deal in Buena Park, according to a new quarterly market report by Voit Real Estate Services.

Birtcher Development LLC is back in business, minus the Australian accent.

Vacancy The vacancy rate for industrial buildings fell to 2.34%, down from an already low 2.38% in the third quarter. Expect vacancy rates to stay low as the limited and shrinking inventory of quality buildings is quickly absorbed by a motivated pool of tenants. “Availability” will be a significant hurdle for tenants for the balance of 2017 and into 2018. For tenants and buyers, being prepared, being able to react and being willing to pursue “off market” deals will be keys for success in this competitive landscape. Market conditions will also provide landlords with the ability to push rents and potentially upgrade the credit of their tenants.

A cluster of Central Orange County cities plan to throw their hats in the ring to get e-commerce giant Amazon’s second headquarters. A joint bid under the banner of Orange County Silicon Cities, or OCSC, is on tap for this week and is expected to be endorsed by the cities of Santa Ana, Garden Grove and Orange, meanwhile Anaheim is also being solicited to back the bid.  The new headquarters could potentially bring 50,000 jobs to a new region over a decade or more, totaling a value of nearly $480 billion.  Amazon estimates the new headquarters would cost more than $5 million to build over 15 years.

The 200,000-square-foot expansion of Anaheim Convention Center that opens Sept. 26 is the result of three to five years of wrangling, funding and construction—and the biggest new effort of several the area will get stretching forward another three to five.

What business exodus? California tops in U.S. for company creation

The growing roster of California businesses and expanding payrolls counters doom-and-gloomers who think this state is a poor place to do business.

California saw the nation’s largest increase in the number of companies between 2014 and 2017. In total, the state added 51,835 companies of all sizes, a notable 2.3% gain.

An affiliate of Sears Holdings Corp. has sold a second sizable Orange County property in less than a month.  LBA purchased the 315,000 square foot industrial building for $41.0M ($130.00 PSF) in the second largest single-building industrial transaction in OC so far this year.

The Newport Beach-based developer, one of the most active builders of industrial properties in OC since the last recession, is breaking ground this month on its largest-ever local project, a multibuilding business park on land in Fullerton that previously held the headquarters of Beckman Coulter Inc.

High-rise towers, pedestrian bridge planned for former Register site

Conceptual images show at least eight new structures joining four existing buildings at the former Orange County Register site in Santa Ana. That includes three new high-rises measuring 260 to 493 …

Developer Michael Harrah, owner of the former Orange County Register property in Santa Ana, there are plans to transform the mostly vacant property into 2.35 million square feet of office, apartments, hotel and retail. The proposed $1 billion redevelopment plan would include two of the tallest buildings in Orange County.

Sandpointe at MacArthur Place, a two building office site in the South Coast Metro area of Santa Ana, has been sold to a local investor in a deal that looks to be worth nearly $60 million.

Job growth slows in Orange and Los Angeles Counties, will rise in Inland Empire

Payrolls in Orange and Los Angeles counties will continue to expand this year and next, but at a more modest rate than before, while job creation in the Inland Empire soars. That’s the prediction o…

Payrolls in Orange and Los Angeles counties will continue to expand this year and next, but at a more modest rate than before, while job creation in the Inland Empire soars.

Mortgage rates dip for second straight week, landing a 4.14%

What’s up with mortgage rates? Jeff Lazerson of Mortgage Grader in Laguna Niguel gives us his take.

Mortgage rates dip for the second straight week, landing at a 4.14%.

2016 Another Banner Year for Commercial Real Estate - CoStar Group

NTL ® # 1 Commercial Real Estate Information Company

For all its ups and downs, U.S. commercial real estate enjoyed another banner year in 2016, thanks in large part to the unprecedented run in multifamily rents and property values and the fact that the U.S. continues to be viewed as a ‘safe haven’ by global property investors.

Goodman Birtcher Gets 133 Acres | Orange County Business Journal

Orange County Business Journal home news print email

Irvine-based developer Goodman Birtcher has bought a pair of massive distribution centers in Los Angeles County, including a property just over the county line in Santa Fe Springs, in one of the larger industrial acquisitions seen in Southern California in recent memory.

The North American subsidiary of Australia-based Goodman Group recently completed the purchase of two industrial sites owned by Albertsons Cos. Inc., in Santa Fe Springs and the San Gabriel Valley city of El Monte.