Industrial Sale in Menifee Exemplifies Inland Empire's High-Clearance Logistics Demand

"It's not very often that deals of this size transact this quickly," Nunez said. "Making things happen so quickly required the focus of both the buyer and seller, as well as assembling a great team to execute.

This included everyone from the title company, engineers, appraisers, environmental consultants, construction contractors and the lender.

"The building's location and features, including the large, secure yard, made it a great option," according to Nunez.

The asset in the sale is Building 3 within the five-building industrial complex, formerly known as Scott Road Commerce Center.

Terry Walsh, president of Southwest Traders, said in a release that the Menifee facility represents a critical next step in his firm's growth strategy, enabling it to scale its operations and expand its regional logistics footprint.

Walsh said he plans to invest approximately $25 million to retrofit a portion of the building into a refrigerated distribution center.

Gradually Stabilizing Fundamentals in Inland Empire

Meanwhile, the Inland Empire's industrial market in Q1 showed a combination of moderating capital-markets activity and gradually stabilizing fundamentals, with each of the major brokerage sources providing a slightly different lens on the quarter.

Avison Young reported that industrial investment volume reached $553.9 million across 48 transactions, noting that this level reflects a normalization of activity rather than a demand reset.

The firm emphasized that institutional capital began re-engaging as interest rates and inflation stabilized.

NAI Capital reported a lower total sales volume of $381.6 million, likely reflecting differences in tracked deal sizes and geographies and highlighted that falling vacancy and renewed leasing momentum supported buyer confidence even as pricing recalibrated.

Cushman & Wakefield stated that the region's vacancy rate reached 8.5 percent, driven largely by four move-outs exceeding one million square feet each, which produced negative 3.4 million square feet of net absorption during the quarter.

Savills reported a slightly higher 9.9 percent vacancy rate and negative absorption of 2.3 million square feet, reinforcing the narrative that large blocks of space returned to the market even as tenant demand remained active.

Inland Empire Industrial Rents Decline from Peak

Along with elevated availability, asking rents continued to decline from their peak, with Avison Young citing an average of $1.01 per square foot, down 35.7 percent from 2023, while NAI Capital reported 95 cents per square foot, a 7.8 percent year-over-year decrease.

Leasing activity strengthened meaningfully, with CBRE reporting 13.6 million square feet of new leasing, a 40 percent increase quarter‑over‑quarter, supported by major commitments from Medline, Tireco and Custom Goods.

This uptick in leasing helped narrow the pricing gap between buyers and sellers, thereby supporting transaction velocity. Avison Young also noted that Walmart's owner‑user acquisition in Riverside served as one of the quarter's anchor transactions, signaling that large corporate users remain willing to deploy capital for strategic facilities.

Taken together, these sources show that Q1 industrial sales in the Inland Empire were shaped by a recovering capital-markets environment, a temporary drag from large tenant move-outs and improving leasing fundamentals that helped stabilize investor sentiment.