SANTA FE SPRINGS, CA—American Realty Advisors has purchased a 174,342-square-foot industrial property from Lincoln for an undisclosed price. The purchase of this property, which is located at 15050-15066 Shoemaker Avenue in Santa Fe Springs, CA, illustrates the very high demand for industrial properties in the mid-counties market, which is experiencing the lowest vacancy rates in six years.

“There was strong interest for this property,” Barbara Emmons, vice chairman at CBRE, tells GlobeSt.com. “It was a functional class-A multi-tenant building in an infill area right off the 5 freeway. It also had under market rents so strong interest.” Emmons represented the buyer and the seller in the transaction along with her CBRE colleagues vice chairman Darla Longo, VP Rebecca Perlmutter Finkel and SVP Laird Perkins. The property is 100% occupied by JB Hunt Transport, a Fortune 500 company, Spartech, Sysonic, and Pacific Diving Academy.  These tenants have an average lease roll of 2.75 years. Although the sales price was undisclosed, Emmons explains, “We got the price we expected but it was aggressive pricing. The cap rate was below 5% due to the below market rents.”

The property features 24-foot clear height, 40 dock-high loading doors, 121-foot truck courts and ample parking. “Lincoln had bought the property on behalf of a separate account,” says Emmons. “The fund had a hold period and the seller felt it was a good time to sell.” 

The incredible industrial demand in the mid-counties market is pushing rents upward at a growth rate of 6.9% per year with a vacancy rate that is decreasing at a rate of 3%. “This transaction shows the demand for quality industrial real estate in infill markets,” says Emmons. “Investors cannot find much of this product and will be aggressive if this product type comes available.” The market has been tight throughout the latter half of 2014 for both investors and tenants. In October, GlobeSt.com reported that the market was on fire when All Ways Pacific LLC, a third-party logistics company, signed a lease for a 254,718-square-foot industrial facility in La Mirada, CA.