IE Business Daily Business news for the Inland Empire.
The Inland industrial market stayed strong during the first quarter of 2014, with sales and leasing activity totaling nearly six million square feet.
That represented a drop of about 1.3 million square feet year-over-year, but that can be attributed to a reduction in desirable industrial space within Riverside and San Bernardino counties, according to Colliers International’s first quarter report on the Inland Empire industrial market.
Net absorption was also strong: 3.1 million square feet of industrial space came online in the two-county region during the first three months of this year, the 18th consecutive quarter the region’s industrial sector has recorded positive net absorption, according to the report, which was released earlier this month.
Overall, there were 60 industrial leases and 33 sales in the Inland region during the quarter, and about 70 percent of the space that was added was leased before construction was finished.
“The numbers are solid and the market is in good shape,” said Thomas Taylor, senior executive vice president with Colliers Ontario and an industrial specialist. “There were some fears earlier in the year that it might be slowing down, but when you see the numbers that doesn’t seem to be happening.”
“Big-box” projects – generally defined as 500,000 square feet and larger – drove the industrial market for several years as it emerged from the recession, but smaller projects are now taking up their share of the landscape.
“Even the incubator projects, all the way down to 2,000 square feet, are starting to show up,” Taylor said. “It’s not just the larger projects anymore.”
Vacancy was 3.9 percent, the lowest rate since the first quarter of 2006, and there is currently more than 16.6 million square feet of industrial space under construction in the Inland Empire, according to the report.
