San Francisco’s Vacancy Decreases to 3.6%
Net Absorption Positive 218,378 SF in the Quarter
Source: CoStar
The San Francisco Industrial market ended the first quar- ter 2015 with a vacancy rate of 3.6%. The vacancy rate was down over the previous quarter, with net absorption totaling positive 218,378 square feet in the first quarter. Vacant sublease space increased in the quarter, ending the quarter at 413,869 square feet. Rental rates ended the first quarter at $16.40, an increase over the previous quarter. A total of two buildings delivered to the market in the quarter totaling 108,080 square feet, with 252,593 square feet still under construction at the end of the quarter.
Absorption
Net absorption for the overall San Francisco Industrial market was positive 218,378 square feet in the first quarter 2015. That compares to positive 265,569 square feet in the fourth quarter 2014, negative (20,730) square feet in the third quarter 2014, and positive 958,846 square feet in the second quarter 2014.
Tenants moving out of large blocks of space in 2015 included U-Save Equipment & Tool Rental moving out of (21,000) square feet at 1258 Bayshore Blvd.
Tenants moving into large blocks of space in 2015 include: Green Leaf moving into 105,600 square feet at 455 Valley Dr, Myokardia moving into 45,404 square feet at 333 Allerton Ave, and CloudFlare moving into 43,519 square feet at 101 Townsend St.
The Flex building market recorded net absorption of posi- tive 3,656 square feet in the first quarter 2015, compared to positive 129,751 square feet in the fourth quarter 2014, positive140,779 in the third quarter 2014, and positive 276,608 in the second quarter 2014.
The Warehouse building market recorded net absorp- tion of positive 214,722 square feet in the first quarter 2015 compared to positive 135,818 square feet in the fourth quarter 2014, negative (161,509) in the third quarter 2014, and positive 682,238 in the second quarter 2014.
Vacancy
The Industrial vacancy rate in the San Francisco market area decreased to 3.6% at the end of the first quarter 2015. The vacancy rate was 3.8% at the end of the fourth quarter 2014, 4.0% at the end of the third quarter 2014, and 4.1% at the end of the second quarter 2014.
Flex projects remained at a vacancy rate of 5.3% at the end of the first quarter 2015 compared to the previous quarter, 5.8% at the end of the third quarter 2014, and 6.4% at the end of the second quarter 2014.
Warehouse projects reported a vacancy rate of 3.1% at the end of the first quarter 2015, 3.3% at the end of fourth quarter 2014, 3.4% at the end of the third quarter 2014, and 3.3% at the end of the second quarter 2014.
Sublease Vacancy
The amount of vacant sublease space in the San Francisco market increased to 413,869 square feet by the end of the first quarter 2015, from 285,144 square feet at the end of the fourth quarter 2014. There was 290,380 square feet vacant at the end of the third quarter 2014 and 314,753 square feet at the end of the second quarter 2014.
San Francisco’s Flex projects reported vacant sublease space of 186,108 square feet at the end of first quarter 2015, down from the 208,699 square feet reported at the end of the fourth quarter 2014. There were 91,366 square feet of sublease space vacant at the end of the third quarter 2014, and 129,748 square feet at the end of the second quarter 2014.
Warehouse projects reported increased vacant sublease space from the fourth quarter 2014 to the first quarter 2015. Sublease vacancy went from 76,445 square feet to 227,761 square feet during that time. There was 199,014 square feet at the end of the third quarter 2014, and 185,005 square feet at the end of the second quarter 2014.
Rental Rates
The average quoted asking rental rate for available Industrial space was $16.40 per square foot per year at the end of the first quarter 2015 in the San Francisco market area. This represented a 4.1% increase in quoted rental rates from the end of the fourth quarter 2014, when rents were reported at $15.75 per square foot.
The average quoted rate within the Flex sector was $26.61 per square foot at the end of the first quarter 2015, while Warehouse rates stood at $12.23. At the end of the fourth quarter 2014, Flex rates were $25.23 per square foot, and Warehouse rates were $11.94.
Deliveries and Construction
During the first quarter 2015, two buildings totaling 108,080 square feet were completed in the San Francisco market area. This compares to 0 buildings completed in the previous three quarters.
There were 252,593 square feet of Industrial space under construction at the end of the first quarter 2015.
Some of the notable 2015 deliveries include: 901 Rankin St, an 82,480-square-foot facility that delivered in first quar- ter 2015 and is now 100% occupied by Goodeggs and Mollie Stone’s Markets, and 1 Kelly Ct, a 25,600-square-foot building that delivered in first quarter 2015 and is now 100% occupied by CS Bio Company, Inc.
The largest projects underway at the end of first quarter 2015 were The Cove – Building 3, a 132,034-square-foot building with 0% of its space pre-leased, and The Cove – Building 4, a 120,559-square-foot facility that is 0% pre-leased.
Inventory
Total Industrial inventory in the San Francisco market area amounted to 94,507,020 square feet in 4,841 buildings as of the end of the first quarter 2015. The Flex sector consisted of 23,955,743 square feet in 789 projects. The Warehouse sector consisted of 70,551,277 square feet in 4,052 buildings. Within the Industrial market there were 516 owner-occupied buildings accounting for 12,428,802 square feet of Industrial space.
Sales Activity
Tallying industrial building sales of 15,000 square feet or larger, San Francisco industrial sales figures fell during the fourth quarter 2014 in terms of dollar volume compared to the third quarter of 2014.
In the fourth quarter, nine industrial transactions closed with a total volume of $58,055,000. The nine buildings totaled 430,025 square feet and the average price per square foot equated to $135.00 per square foot. That compares to eight transactions totaling $80,684,000 in the third quarter. The total square footage was 349,762 for an average price per square foot of $230.68.
Total year-to-date industrial building sales activity in 2014 is up compared to the previous year. In the twelve months of 2014, the market saw 46 industrial sales transactions with a total volume of $410,518,100. The price per square foot has averaged $199.10 this year. In the twelve months of 2013, the market posted 31 transactions with a total volume of $191,567,100. The price per square foot averaged $176.40.
Cap rates have been higher in 2014, averaging 6.35%, compared to the twelve months of last year when they averaged 6.19%.
Link to Full Report: Costar Q1 Industrial Report 2015