Industrial Land Sites Aren’t As Hot As You’d Think

LOS ANGELES—There is certainly a dearth of industrial supply throughout the Los Angeles area and up into Ventura County, but some developers might be foregoing development opportunities because of the long, arduous and expensive entitlement process. At least, that is the case in Oxnard, where the majority of the land site sales have gone to owner-users, not developers looking to build spec.

“Land is in demand for development, but it is not as in demand as you would think because it is a challenge to develop with all of the requirements and city bureaucracy,” Mitch Conlee, EVP of DAUM Commercial, tells GlobeSt.com. “There are a lot of fees to develop land sites today, and as a result, investors aren’t looking for land sites as much as they are looking for existing buildings. However, it really depends on the buyer. Most of the land sales that have occurred in Oxnard have been to users, not developers. Companies are buying land to build for their own use, but developers aren’t buying land for spec development because of the high costs to develop.”