Inland Empire office market lowest in US vacancy; industrial land sold for $69M

S&P Global Market Intelligence offers the top picks of real estate news stories published throughout the week.

The Inland Empire market in California recorded the lowest office vacancy rate in the US for the past five quarters, driven by the region's attractive fundamentals.

The vacancy rate in the region stood at 8.8% in the first quarter, well below the 19% rate nationally, according to a CBRE report. The real estate services company said the lack of supply and higher demand decreased the vacancy rate below that of surrounding regions.

"The [Inland Empire] continued to boast strong and growing retail demand, newer and more affordable homes and limited distress compared to other Southern California markets, creating an environment for businesses to succeed," CBRE said.

The government as well as the healthcare and engineering industries have been active in seeking office space in the region to be able to provide services to their communities, CBRE added.

CHART OF THE WEEK: 9 REITs hike dividends in May

⮞ Nine publicly traded real estate investment trusts — eight in the US and one in Canada — announced increases in dividend payouts in May.

⮞ For the first five months of 2024, 44 REITs in the US boosted dividend payouts, while three Canadian REITs announced dividend hikes.

⮞ Summit Hotel Properties Inc. reported the largest relative dividend growth in May, up 33.3% to 8 cents per share.

Property purchases

– City of Hillsboro Oregon's economic development agency acquired 94 acres of land in Hillsboro, Ore.'s Jackson East area for $68.5 million, the Portland Business Journal reported. The land will likely be used for industrial development, according to the publication.

– MSC Group bought a commercial condominium at Block 55 at Sawyer's Walk in Miami for $67 million, Commercial Observer reported. The Swiss container shipping company intends to set up its headquarters at the 1.4 million-square-foot property, which will form part of the 3.4-acre development at 249 NW Sixth St.

– Bixby Land Co. Inc. acquired a total of 95.3 acres of land containing two warehouses at 6600 and 6590 Pritchard Road in Jacksonville, Fla., from WPT Pritchard Road LP and BCore Crossroads Owner LLC for $53.5 million, the Jacksonville Business Journal reported.

US hotel performance

US hotel performance was up year over year across two key metrics during the week ended June 15, STR reported, citing data from CoStar, which provides information and analytics on property markets.

Revenue per available room (RevPAR) was $113.26, up 0.3% from the comparable week in 2023. Average daily rate (ADR) rose 0.9% to $161.70, while occupancy fell 0.6% to 70.3%.

Among the top 25 markets, San Francisco took the No. 1 spot for occupancy, ADR and RevPAR growth. New Orleans and Los Angeles reported the steepest declines in RevPAR.

Explore key people moves in North American real estate.

Average short interest in US REITs relatively unchanged in May

US equity REIT capital offerings more than quadrupled month over month in May