Industrial Sale Shows Market Growth

FULLERTON, CA-A local private investor has acquired a 108,398-sf two-tenant industrial building here that has nearly doubled in price since it last traded four years ago, illustrating what market experts describe as the continued strength and growth in the county's industrial market. The property, at 1600 E. Valencia Dr., sold for nearly $9.4 million after trading for $4.8 million in December 2003.

Vernon Holdings LLC bought the building from Newport Beach-based Wohl/Valencia LLC in a transaction that was brokered by Michael Lawrence, vice president of investments with the Newport Beach office of Marcus & Millichap. The two-story warehouse building, which was constructed in 1961 and was renovated in 2006, features 11,591 sf of mezzanine space.

Prices continue to rise in the Orange County industrial market because of supply and demand factors that include a shortage of land, according to a report from Marcus & Millichap on the county's industrial market. The report notes that what little inventory growth occurs in the county is concentrated in the North County and Central County submarkets, where developers have land holdings.

Vacancy remains below 4% in the North County submarket, the Marcus & Millichap report points out, with even lower vacancies in the small west county areas of Huntington Beach, Cypress and Los Alamitos. Marcus & Millichap's latest outlook for the county's industrial properties is that "buyer demand will remain at high levels, but strong fundamentals will limit the number of properties that are brought to market."

A report on the market by Sperry Van Ness projects a vacancy rate of 4.1% for the Orange County industrial market in 2008 and ranks it as one of the 10 US industrial markets to watch in 2008. "Additionally, further industrial developments are restricted by a lack of available land, making the long-term investment outlook for the Orange County industrial market highly positive," the Sperry Van Ness report says.