Warehouse space is at its tightest level since the first dot-com boom, and it’s driving tons of business.
The second quarter saw availability fall to 7.2 percent, the lowest level since 2000, as demand continues to outpace supply, according to CBRE data first reported by the Wall Street Journal. Availability has now dropped for a record 32 straight quarters.
Experts largely attribute the fall-off to growing demand for space as e-commerce grows. That’s prompting some owners to expand the scope of their operations, including by adding so-called last-mile delivery operations to their properties.
The demand is driving prices to record highs, particularly for distribution centers in urban areas. Los Angeles’ South Bay submarket, an industrial hub near the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach and Los Angeles International Airport, is seeing rental and sale prices for Class B properties rise to Class A levels as tenants and investors jostle to get a foot in the door.
The average price per square foot in New York has grown as by as much as 81 percent in some areas. Nationally, industrial sales volume by dollar amount has doubled since 2012, according to data from PwC and the Urban Land Institute.
The tight warehouse market has produced strong returns for industrial real estate investment trusts. Last year returns for REITs were 24 percent, higher than the single-digit returns in other sectors.
Blackstone has taken notice and spent more than $10 billion buying industrial REITs and properties, including a $7.6 billion purchase of Gramercy Property Trust.
But not everyone is hot on industrial. Sam Zell, the notorious doomsayer, vulgar septuagenarian, and Equity International founder, thinks that developers are building too much and that it will outpace demand.
Source: The Real Deal
Larry W. Genet is a Senior Vice President in the CBRE, Inc. Miami, FL office. As part of the CBRE platform Mr. Genet can provide a wide range of services from local to Fortune 1000 clients including agency and tenant representation, asset or portfolio management, high level logistics, labor and data analytics prior to site selection, project/construction management, capital markets, owner user sales and valuation advisory services. CBRE is the global leader for real estate services worldwide.
Larry has extensive experience in landlord agency, tenant representation, acquisitions, dispositions and property management. As a third-generation commercial real estate professional and South Florida native, Larry boasts deep community ties, an intimate knowledge of the South Florida market and numerous professional contacts. Larry’s leasing expertise of industrial, office, land, retail and medical properties coupled with his experience in acquisitions and dispositions gives him the ability to represent a myriad of clients in the South Florida market. Additionally, Larry controls a portfolio of 13.5 million square feet allowing him to see every deal in the market. This ensures his clients never miss an opportunity. His knowledge of tenants and buyers in the market is top notch and when coupled with his team's vast portfolio, it's a winning combination.
