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IRVINE, CA—The industrial sector continues to strengthen as the national economy improves, logistics progresses and on-shoring heightens. But what can we expect for 2016 in this important sector?

GlobeSt.com spoke exclusively with several members of the Board of Directors at the privately held and newly broker-owned Voit Real Estate Services to get their take.  

Voit's professionals have decades of experience serving both private and institutional clients and the following Voit Board Members, who are recognized leaders in the industrial market in Southern California, offered their insight in each of their respective markets as we approach 2016.

Current Voit board members include Bob Voit,Michael Hefner, Mitch Zehner, Seth Davenport, Randy LaChance, Frank Geraci and Trent Walker.

GlobeSt.com: What's in store for the Industrial sector in 2016 in your respective market?

Randy LaChance, SVP (Voit San Diego Office, San Diego County): The industrial markets in central San Diego County have completely recovered from the Great Recession. Single-digit vacancy rates are the norm, and there has been strong rent growth in the last 18 months. Both rents and property values are setting or approaching the all-time highs set in 2008. The slow-growth economy has finally caught up and converted the tenant market of the past to a landlord market.

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Mike Hefner, EVP (Voit Anaheim Office, Orange County):The Orange County market has reached record-low vacancy of 2.6%, and as a result, sale prices and lease rates have risen dramatically over the past 24 months. We expect this trend to continue through 2016 as the supply falls far short of demand.

In spite of recent new developments like Panattoni's 1.8-million-square-foot Anaheim Concourse development and select industrial projects by Western Realco, most of Orange County's industrial submarkets have seen their industrial base eroded by the ongoing conversion of infill sites to multifamily projects and for-sale single-family housing.

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New industrial development projects have enjoyed tremendous success, with the majority of buildings being pre-leased or pre-sold prior to completion of construction to buyers and tenants who have migrated from a broad geographic and who have been willing to pay premium prices for new, efficient, state-of-the-art buildings. The biggest challenge facing the industrial real estate developers, brokers and users in 2016 is a lack of supply. In order to meet the demands of the robust industrial sector, developers and investors will continue to acquire inefficient buildings and underutilized properties and either upgrade the property with conventional amenities and/or demolish the building to construct newer, state-of-the-art product. We will also continue to see the acquisition of building parks for condo conversions and sale to end users. Given the current economic climate and barring any "shocks" to the economy, we expect the market to remain healthy through 2016.

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Seth Davenport, SVP, and Mitch Zehner, EVP (Voit Anaheim office broker team, Orange County):

2015 has continued the theme of shrinking inventory that we began to experience in 2013, and the velocity of the market has certainly slowed because of it. We expect 2016 to be an even more challenging market for those people looking for space—and a fruitful market for those that are trying to fill or sell it. With sub-4% interest rates and lack of product pushing building prices to record highs, tenants and buyers are still lining up to acquire property since their occupancy costs are as high to lease as they are to own. We expect that record-low vacancy and historically low rates will continue to fuel an appreciating market even in an election year. For those that are looking to acquire space, creativity, credibility, and flexibility are critical components to your ability to succeed. To owners looking to lease or sell, price is only one variable, and the market should also provide a unique opportunity to accomplish all of your objectives.