How Fast Do Industrial Assets Really Sell?

Chris Migliori

Industrial assets are flying off the market. The industrial market in Orange County has historically low vacancy rates and rapidly increasing rents, and these fundamentals are driving investment activity. However, like the leasing market, there are limited investment opportunities. When an asset does come to the market, it sells quickly. SAME Investments recently brought a 99,552-square-foot industrial property to market in North Orange County that received three offers within 10 days of the listing and was completed within 120 days of hitting the market. LFT-Cliffwood purchased the property, which was the only available industrial asset of its size on the market at the time.

“The for-sale market for industrial properties 50,000 to 200,000 square-foot range in Orange County is almost non-existent,” Chris Migliori, an EVP at DAUM Commercial who represented the seller, tells GlobeSt.com. “Demand is simply outpacing supply and it has been that way for at least the past 36 months. Many owner-users requiring this size range are prepared to do a 1031 exchange into a building that offers increased capacity and utilization, trading big dollars for bigger dollars. If the building requirements are not fulfilled within a reasonable period of time, many owner-users will consider other markets that are adjacent to Orange County, like LA or the Inland Empire. That said, if a user has been operating in Orange County for many years, considering the trek to an alternative market might not be practical due to preferences of key employees, proximity to vendors, difficult traffic patterns, fuel, and wear and tear on vehicles.”