US Industrial Investors Switch to Single Assets

A Jersey City site once owned by IndCor Properties and bought by Singapore-based GLP in 2015. Foreign buyers have not been as active in 2016.

CHICAGO—In 2015, investors in the US industrial market completed several multi-billion-dollar mega deals. However, in 2016 the investment landscape underwent a change, and by the second quarter, many buyers had switched to the single asset strategy, according to a recent research report from JLL. As of mid-year, smaller trades are outpacing portfolio activity by three to one.

“Last year was all about the national portfolio business, but that inventory has dwindled during the first six months of 2016, leading investors to act increasingly on a single asset basis,” says John Huguenard, JLL international director and head of the Americas industrial capital markets platform. “Single asset transactions are exceptional investments but require buyers to complete considerably more transactions to place the same amount of capital.”