San Diego industrial investment activity has fallen significantly for the year as a result of the pandemic. According to research from JLL, industrial investment activity is down 50% for the year, despite a rebound in investor appetite during the third quarter.

"Despite a nice bounce back in the third quarter sales activity, year-to-date sales volume in 2020 is down 50% from 2019. Much this can be attributed to a temporary pause during the early stages of the pandemic," Greg Lewis, EVP at JLL, tells GlobeSt.com. "Investors were understandably hesitant to commit to valuations and required more clarity before getting back into acquisition mode. These concerns were quickly assuaged once it became evident that there was no dip in lease rates or demand for industrial."

While investment activity for the year remains well below 2019 sales volumes, other metrics have showed signs of improvement. Pricing on assets, for example, is currently at pre-pandemic levels and growing. "Investor and owner user pricing quickly returned to pre-COVID numbers, and in some cases, it is now exceeding those levels from both a price per square foot and cap rate perspective," says Lewis.