One-day dock-to-doorstep access to over 100 million customers has driven 8A rents and occupancy rates to unprecedented levels, says Schmidt. Exit 8A remains one of the state's tightest industrial submarkets, with a vacancy rate of under two percent.

“These historic fundamentals are having a profound impact on the investment sales market,” Schmidt says. “As a result, the price per square foot ceiling for industrial product at 8A, has been shattered versus prior cycles.”

The 287 Corridor is also commanding interest from the investor class and tenants, according to Schmidt. A prime example involves Cushman & Wakefield's sale of Lincoln Industrial Park in Piscataway from a partnership of Lincoln Equities Group and Real Capital Solutions to the Rockefeller Group. The $57 million, 228-acre land sale included development rights for more than two million square feet of new construction.

Year-over-year, the 287 Corridor has seen a marked decrease in available space, with the vacancy rate decreasing from 6.1 percent to 2.1 percent. The 287 Corridor is coming into its own this cycle, and for good reason, as it offers great access to labor and some relief from tolls. In addition to Rockefeller, other institutional investors are making investments in the market – including Clarion Partners, Industrial Property Trust, LaSalle Investment Management and PCCP.

New Jersey industrial demand in 2017 has expanded beyond the I-95 and 287 Corridors. Cushman & Wakefield's $95 million sale of Wharton Commerce Center illustrates this trend. The East Rutherford-based team sold this 1.5 million-square-foot, two-building complex which was primarily long-term leased to a contract beverage manufacturer. “The ability to move a project west of 287 for nearly $100 million is a clear indicator of the depth of interest for industrial investment,” says Gabriel.

The team's vacant-forward sale of 215 Blair Road in Avenel is another demonstration of investor demand. Barings purchased the 372,848-square-foot property, which included an existing building and a “to-be-built” component—without leasing commitments—from Sitex for $65 million.

The New Jersey industrial market currently reports an overall market vacancy rate of 3.8 percent (a 70-basis-point decrease year-over-year) and an overall weighted average asking rent of $8.15 per square foot (a 16-percent year-over-year increase), according to Cushman & Wakefield. “We expect the combination of solid fundamentals and a continued surge of industrial-oriented capital to produce another above-average year of sales volume in 2018,” Schmidt says.