SIOR Hosts Member Dinner to Kick Off 2019


Commercial Real Estate Panel Shares Insights Into What’s in Store for 2019

SAN JOSE, Calif. – February 1, 2019 – The Northern California chapter of the Society of Industrial and Office Realtors® (SIOR) held its annual kick-off event, a dinner meeting, at the Silicon Valley Capital Club last week. Panel moderator, Jordan Schnitzer, president, Harsch Investment Properties, provided the color commentary to keep the momentum going throughout the program. Panelists included Scott Lamson, president, Northwest region, Prologis; Don Little, senior vice president of development with Trammell Crow Northern California; Steve Briggs, chief investment officer, LBA Realty; and Chris Freise, managing partner and cofounder at Lift Partners. Here are some of the highlights from the panel.

Freise explained that Lift was started four years ago with a $100 million discretionary fund centered in the Bay Area and Seattle with tech-oriented industrial users but he really learned construction at the Amazon campus in Seattle. As a start-up, there are challenges, he says.

“We have to hustle for deals. There is pressure with construction costs and higher taxes in California,” Freise said. “But there is a lot of opportunity in Seattle and the Bay Area. There is a great quality of life in Northern California.”

Little pointed out there are a lot of jobs but not enough housing in the Bay Area. Lamson concurred, saying the cost of living in the Bay Area makes it difficult to raise families.

In looking at projects represented by the four firms, Lamson outlined that Prologis has 30 million square feet under construction, averaging 25 million square feet per year for the past three years. He said Prologis has the infrastructure in place for projects in Tracy, where the firm has 250 million and 600 million under construction, with 1 million permitted.

Prologis has 160 million square feet in the West, broken down as follows – 65 million square feet in Southern California, 40 million square feet in Northern California, 15 million square feet in Seattle, and 10 million square feet in Denver and Reno.

“I thought Tesla would hurt the Reno market but that hasn’t happened in our project there,” Lamson says.

Briggs says 15 to 20% of LBA’s business is e-commerce and the Denver, Reno and Tracy markets constitute a “young business” for the firm.

When discussing the hottest areas and trends, it is no surprise that the topic of opportunity zones came up. Freise said Lift is taking advantage of those projects, in addition to industrial and urban development.

“Opportunity zones are frothy but the advantages are gravy,” observed Little. “It opens the doors to entrepreneurial capital.”

Little said Trammell Crow was not a big believer in Livermore or Morgan Hill but now has a project in Morgan Hill scheduled to break ground in fourth quarter 2019. The project is 16 miles from San Jose.

“Labor has become a factor, especially in Oakland but even in Tracy,” Little says.

Freise pointed out that areas of interest for Lift are Oakland, Redwood City and San Jose’s downtown, which is “on a trajectory and there is a lot of room to run in general. However, San Francisco is tight as a drum.”

Briggs said interest rates and liquidity have a big impact on the market but in general, Seattle and West Los Angeles are the most robust. LBA is cautious about San Jose, however, transit-oriented walkable space is in demand.

Also of caution is exactly when a slowdown will occur but some are not as concerned as one might think.

“We’d love to see a nice little recession; a good old-fashioned hiccup, not a 2008,” Briggs said.

Little pointed out that the difference between in 2008 and now is that banks are more disciplined and the market is forward looking.

“Tech is concerning because it reminds me of 1999 and 2000, but we are in a better position,” Lamson said. “And, e-commerce won’t slow down.”

 

About SIOR:

The SOCIETY OF INDUSTRIAL AND OFFICE REALTORS® (SIOR) is the leading professional office and industrial real estate association. SIOR members complete more than 80,000 transactions annually. SIOR has more than 3,000 members in more than 630 cities in 34 countries. SIOR represents today’s most knowledgeable, experienced, and successful commercial real estate brokerage specialists. Real estate professionals who have earned the SIOR designation are recognized as the most capable and experienced brokerage practitioners in any market.

###


A little more about SIOR Northern California Chapter...

Comments are closed.