INLAND EMPIRE – (INT) – Soaring costs for residential housing aren’t the only factors driving up the cost of living and doing business across the Inland Empire.

Tight vacancies and high demand are sparking bidding wars for industrial space.

According to a new report from CBRE, base rents in the Inland Empire rose 24.1% year-over-year. It was the second-biggest jump in the nation after Northern New Jersey. Orange County came in fifth with a 16.9% increase, and the Greater Los Angeles area ranked No. 15 with industrial rents rising 7.6%.

Bulk warehouses accounted for the biggest increases in rents, specifically, leases for warehouses of 500,000 sq. ft. or more surged 13.2%.

“We are seeing these increases due to several facts,” said Ontario-based CBRE Executive Vice President Dan de la Paz. “First off, the increase in e-commerce demand has been immense. Given the COVID effect, companies have changed from just-in-time inventory prior to the pandemic to wanting to better control inventory supplies, as many ran out of product during last year’s surge in online shopping.”

De la Paz noted that in much of Southern California, “We’re running out of space. In the Inland Empire, we’re officially out of land. So these rents are spiking, particularly for the bigger buildings.”

Story Date: July 1, 2021