Within an Already Favored Sector, Industrial Big Boxes Are Highly Prized by All Types of Investors

While all types of industrial real estate continue to rank highly on many acquisition wish lists, there has been a particular uptick in the demand for big-box industrial assets. Today, all types of investors are looking at industrial big boxes—warehouse/distribution centers that contain 200,000 sq. ft of space or more of space—including domestic and foreign pension funds, public and non-traded REITs, sovereign wealth funds, private equity funds, family offices and high-net-worth individuals (HNWIs), according to Jack Fraker, vice chairman and managing director of capital markets with real estate services firm CBRE.

Among the most active big-name bidders on industrial assets today are Link, GIC, PGIM, Clarion, Stockbridge, KKR, Exeter and Brookfield, notes Al Pontius, senior vice president with Marcus & Millichap who is based in the firm’s San Francisco office. “But this is only the beginning,” he adds. “An important caveat is that there continue to be new equity sources added to the mix that are expanding an already crowded field.”