The question that some of us are now asking in the industry is, “Will 2018 be the year that we break the $10.00 per sq. ft. barrier for the average lease rate?” We are close enough that this may happen, although it will be grudgingly so. With so much new space being delivered on-the-market, landlords will likely not be able to drastically increase their lease rates due to fierce competition and knowledgeable tenant-rep brokers. A real problem that few professionals discuss is the lack of customer service delivered by landlords / owners. Unsatisfactory property maintenance and management, as well as very challenging lease terms imposed by landlords, are becoming the norm in today’s “owner’s market”. Welcome to Miami. Tenants are customers too and win-win lease transactions between both parties will be more respected when the market starts turning the other way, and it will one day.

At the U.S. national level, the average vacancy rate has also decreased slightly to 4.9% and the average lease rate increased to $6.46 per sq. ft. Our colleagues from around the country report that each of their respective markets were very dynamic in 2017. We look forward to entering the second year, of a new era, of lower taxation and less federal regulations. Now we just need to make Miami-Dade County great again.

The ComReal Industrial Team commences this year with the largest, available warehouse measuring 234,739 sq. ft. now listed for sale on-the-market (see below). In addition, we have a total of seven (7) buildings listed for sale in Miami over 25,000 sq. ft., which is more than any other brokerage firm in Miami. Please feel free to contact us anytime to discuss your commercial real estate needs in 2018 and beyond.

Missed Our Last Industrial Market Report? If you would like to read last quarter’s report, please view online at: ComReal’s Miami Industrial Real Estate Report for the 3rd Quarter of 2017. >>>

Featured Property: The 234,739 sq. ft. Miami Freezer/Cooler Building for Sale!

At an impressive size of 234,739 sq. ft., this is the largest warehouse in Miami currently listed on-the-market for sale. The building’s freezers and coolers make it ideal for an owner-user in the perishables industry, however it could also be great for dry distribution, manufacturing, etc. Investors may also be attracted to this multi-bay warehouse and the seller may consider leasing-back a portion. The property is halfway between both PortMiami and Port Everglades just off I-95. For details on this ComReal exclusive listing, please visit The Miami Freezer Warehouse Building for Sale. >>>

Our customers are “cool!” TransInternational Cargo expands it’s flower distribution operation to 26k SF cooler warehouse space closer to Miami Int’l. Airport.

Miami Warehouses Sold in 4th Quarter 2017 (partial list):

Miami Warehouses Leased in 4th Quarter 2017 (partial list):

* Deals closed by the ComReal Miami Industrial Team

Two more happy customers! Pan Ocean Freight swiftly back-filled an 80k SF warehouse space at Miami International Logistics Center in Hialeah owned by Lincoln Property Group immediately after the prior tenant terminated it’s lease.

News Release: 87,531 sq. ft. Warehouse at Turnpike Logistics Center 100% Leased!

ComReal completely leased up the 87,531 sq. ft. warehouse building known as The Turnpike Logistics Center located in Doral to a single tenant in the international skin care production and distribution industry. The landlord is Seagis Property Group. The value of this lease transaction was about $3.5M. For more information on the story, please visit Florida Turnpike Logistics Center Warehouse in Doral. >>>

Congratulations to Patricia Quintana, CCIM who leased 12k SF of office space on Doral Boulevard to US Health Exchange

Office Space on Doral Boulevard Leased

Service Provider of the Quarter: Sirius Business Advisors

Sirius Business Advisors is the only business brokerage firm in Miami that we are comfortable in recommending to our clients. If you are looking to buy or sell a business opportunity then Sirius has the solution for mergers, acquisitions, add-on opportunities, etc. Please consider letting ComReal handle your commercial real estate needs along with Sirius for your business needs. Contact our friends Michael Weihl and Richard Leal with Sirius Business Brokers at 844-747-4875​ and/or via their website at www.siriusbusinessadvisors.com. >>>

We start the new year with nearly one million square feet of positive absorption. Lease rates and occupancy levels have both increased. The vacancy rate falls now to 6%. The leasing activity is very strong as evidenced by all of the lease transactions listed below. These are good signs of a healthy and improving industrial real estate market.

Before you accuse us of building up the hype, we must confess that some of our customers report serious concerns with their respective industries as well as their perspectives of the overall economy. Industrial acquisitions and dispositions must be carefully reviewed before proceeding with any final decisions. Occupiers require good, functional properties with economical pricing.

We are excited to see that the land is now being cleared for the development of Flagler Station’s Phase III located on the northeast corner of the Florida Turnpike and NW 106th Street in Medley. This phase will consist of about 1,745,000 sq. ft. of warehouse space. Flagler is also now constructing Buildings 2 and 3 at South Florida Logistics Center. Several other new warehouses will be delivered in Transal Park, Miami Airport North and Beacon Lakes.

There are two very large industrial users looking for new locations in Miami. Telemundo is seeking a new facility of about 800,000 sq. ft. which will include studio, warehouse and office space. Online retail giant, Amazon.com, is looking to lease over 250,000 sq. ft. of warehouse space. There are also a good amount of other additional occupiers looking for over 100,000 sq. ft. of space to lease and/or purchase.

The ComReal Miami Industrial Team has a new refrigerated warehouse space available for sub-lease in International Corporate Park in Doral. The total space measures 64,000 sq. ft. In addition, we also have a 102,000 sq. ft. building with refrigerated warehouse space for sale or lease in Americas’ Gateway Park. Please visit www.AGPBuilding.com for more information and a virtual tour of the property.

In case you missed our prior report, you may click this link for ComReal’s Miami Industrial Real Estate Market Report for the 4th Quarter of 2013. >>>

Featured Property: Refrigerated Warehouse Space in International Corporate Park in Doral:

Click the Property Brochure for more details

Hard to find cooler space for sublease! Located at 1665 NW 102nd Avenue in International Corporate Park in Doral. This refrigerated warehouse space in Miami is about 64,000 sq. ft. May be divided into two 32,000 sq. ft. spaces. The existing tenant may be expanding and relocating later this year.

Miami Warehouses Leased in 1st Quarter 2014 (partial list):

Miami Warehouses Sold in 1st Quarter 2014 (partial list):

Florida State Sales Tax on Commercial Rental Payments:

Every tenant and every landlord should read more about this issue. Florida Realtors are fighting for YOU!

Did you know that Florida is the only state in the USA that charges a sales tax on commercial rental payments? Are you aware that Florida also charges this sales tax on top of property taxes? This is double taxation and is simply not fair.

In March, Ed Redlich and other Florida Realtors visited Capitol Hill in Tallahassee to advocate legislators to reduce and/or eliminate the unfair sales tax on commercial lease agreements. Redlich is President of the Realtors Commercial Alliance of Miami with over 1,600 members. Read his letter to state legislators concerning the Florida state sales tax on commercial lease agreements. >>>

Ed Redlich with Florida Governor Rick Scott at Governor’s Mansion in Tallahassee. March 2014.

CCIM Miami 2014 Commercial Real Estate Outlook Conference:

Every year, CCIM Miami conducts the Outlook Conference on Commercial Real Estate. Over 300 professionals were in attendance to learn about trends and deals with all of the various property types such as office, industrial, retail, investments and more. To view all of this year’s presentations plus an economic forecast, please visit the 2014 CCIM Miami Commercial Real Estate Outlook Conference. >>> 

Attached is Redlich’s presentation on Miami’s industrial real estate market. >>>

In addition, here is a link to ComReal Miami’s 2012 Year End Report on the Industrial Real Estate Market. >>>

In ComReal Miami’s year end report for 2011, we wrote about the “return of the landlords” and about the announcements of speculative construction for several, new warehouse projects. In 2012, the theme was absolutely “breaking ground!” as eight new projects commenced. It was very good to see vertical construction in Miami occur once again. ComReal reports that the total amount of warehouse space that was completed and/or nearly-completed in 2012 was about 2,200,000 sq. ft. In addition, new warehouse buildings are going to be constructed in 2013 in Beacon Lakes, Flagler Station, Miami International Tradeport, Airport North Industrial Park, South Florida Logistics Center and Miami International Logistics Center. This year we can expect to see more new construction, some in-fill developments, some re-developments of existing warehouses plus even some demolitions of older, non-functional buildings.

In comparison to the end of the year in 2011, 2012 ended with slight increases to both the average sales price and lease rate; $64 per sq. ft. and $7.54 per sq. ft. respectively. The vacancy rate dropped from 7.9% to 6.7%. Although the positive absorption was only 2,080,000 sq. ft. (down from 2,508,000 sq. ft.), that is a very good sign considering that we had new warehouse space delivered to the market.

The grand finale of the year, was the late-December closing on 45 acres located at 7500 NW 82nd Place in Medley by L&B Realty Advisors. The price was $45,000,000 or about $11.75 per sq. ft. plus the cost of the additional site work that will be needed. Butters Construction & Development will be constructing over 900,000 sq. ft. of warehouse space for what is now being branded as Airport North Industrial Park.

Miami continues to be one of the most dynamic markets in the entire country. No city in the USA may benefit more than Miami from the Foreign Trade Agreements (FTA’s) and Foreign Trade Zones (FTZ’s) thanks in part to the U.S. Department of Commerce. The federal, state and local investments to our infrastructure and transportation systems will secure the foundation for developing our overall industrial real estate market.

On a side note, our team appreciates all of your support this past year. We look forward to working with you in 2013 and beyond. Like many of you, the past few years have been challenging for our team, our staff and our families. However, with your support and patronage, we were able to re-build ourselves to help serve you better than ever. Looking back, the work was never easy, but we always did business the right way. We would not have it any other way. Thank you very much.

In case you missed our prior report, you may click this link for ComReal’s Miami Industrial Real Estate Market Report for the 3rd Quarter, 2012. >>>

New Construction Report:

The ComReal Miami Industrial Team is pleased to present this report on new construction of industrial warehouses in Miami. At the time of this report, there was over 1,000,000 sq. ft. of newly-completed and/or nearly-completed warehouse buildings in 2012. For our brief summary of the report, please visit New Industrial Warehouse Construction in Miami. >>>

Miami International Commerce Center – 8000 Flex Space Building:

ComReal Miami is pleased to announce their representation of PS Business Parks for the lease of their 45,000 sq. flex space in Doral. The Doral flex space building is comprised of both office and warehouse space that is divisible from about 7,500 sq. ft. and up. The property is located at 8000 NW 25th Street in Miami International Commerce Center (MICC) in Doral, Florida.Visit the property website at www.FlexSpaceMiami.com >>>

Miami International Logistics Center:

ComReal is pleased to announce the pending construction of a new class A warehouse named Miami International Logistics Center. The class A, bulk-sized 400,000 sq. ft. building will be one of the closest warehouses to Port Miami and Miami International Airport. The twenty acre site is located just off the Airport Expressway (State Road 112) which is less than twenty minutes from the port and airport. The completion date of this nearly $40M project is expected by May 2014. If having a warehouse near Port Miami is important for your Miami drayage operations then this is the property for you. Please visit Miami International Logistics Center. >>>

Miami Commercial Real Estate Event(s):

Join the the Miami-Dade District of the Certified Commercial Investment Members (CCIM) for their annual Outlook Conference. Expect 300 commercial real estate professionals in attendance. Ed Redlich, CCIM, SIOR will be presenting the Industrial Report. For more details and/or to RSVP visit: CCIM Miami Commercial Real Estate 2013 Outlook Conference. >>>

South Florida Distribution Warehouse Sold:

Congratulations to Ronald “the Silver Fox” Winokur of The ComReal Companies for the successful closing of this South Florida warehouse formerly known as Carl’s Furniture. The sales price was $12,700,000 making it one of the largest sales for 2012. The mixed use building totals over 400,000 sq. ft. Read more about the transaction at South Florida Warehouse. >>>

Miami Warehouses Leased in 4th Quarter 2012 (partial list):

Miami Warehouses Sold in 4th Quarter 2012 (partial list):

Service Provider of the Quarter:

If you are considering a financial consultant, we recommend consulting with Mr. Eric Garcia of Popular Investments in Miami. Eric can assist you by making educated choices. There are voluminous stocks, bonds and other investments to select from; each with various degrees of rewards versus risks. Both new and seasoned investors should consider retaining their own financial adviser. Popular Investments will serve your needs and help make you achieve the financial success you deserve. For more info, please contact Eric J. Garcia at 305-335-5333.

The sales and leasing activity remained steady for Miami’s industrial real estate market in the 3rd quarter of this year. Vacancy rates decreased slightly to 8.4% during this period while the average lease rates increased slightly to $7.15 per square foot. In comparison, the national averages are 9.6% and $5.13 psf respectively. The past and present facts in this report may provide us with some optimism for both the Miami industrial real estate market and the local economy.

The only newly-constructed warehouse to mention is GOYA’s completion of their 338,000 sq. ft. warehouse located at 13300 Northwest 25th Street. However, the most significant news is the announcements of four new construction projects of bulk-sized, Class A warehouse buildings by institutional investors, totaling just over 1,000,000 sq. ft. Three of the developments are within walking distance of each other. What is even more amazing is the fact that all of the following warehouses are being constructed entirely on a speculative basis!

You might be asking yourself right now if there is enough recent activity to encourage spec development? Our conservative response is “probably yes”. If a company is seeking to lease over 50,000 sq. ft. in these sub-markets there are less than ten choices right now with several prospects now currently in the market looking. Perhaps the most recent, closed deals in these sub-markets are the best indication of the near future. Check out this list of all of the leasing and sales transactions in the past six months of 25,000+ sq. ft. warehouses in Airport West and Medley.

In case you missed our prior report, you may click this link for ComReal’s Miami Industrial Real Estate Market Report. >>>

Warehouses Leased:

Warehouses Sold:

Graph for Asking Prices for Miami-Dade County Industrial Properties

So after several years of zero speculative construction, what else has caused the institutions to become even more bullish on Miami? The reasons are that land values are low enough to make for attractive acquisition opportunities which is exactly as ComReal predicted in its 2010 Year-End Industrial Market Report >>>

Institutional investment companies are looking at the global picture which includes the expansion of the Panama Canal and the recent passing of the Foreign Trade Agreements (FTA’s) with Panama, Colombia and South Korea. Miami is preparing by making major upgrades to its transportation infrastructure including renovation of the Palmetto (SR826) and Dolphin (SR 836) Expressways ( www.826-836.com ) ; deep dredging the Port of Miami channel to 50’; repairing the FEC Railway; new construction of the Miami Tunnel and the Miami Intermodal Center (www.micdot.com); and new terminals at Miami International Airport. According to Miami-Dade County’s Office of Economic Development and International Trade (OEDIT) , “The airport and seaport continue to see consistent double-digit, year-over-year gains in international trade.” All of these transformations are expected to have a major, collective impact on Miami’s warehouse industry. The essence of Miami’s industrial market is truly about exploiting its international trade routes and relationships.

To learn of other trends and activity details, please contact ComReal’s Industrial Real Estate Team at 786-433-2380 and/or visit www.MiamiWarehouseTeam.com. We are always available for a friendly, but confidential discussion in regards to evaluating your warehouse space needs and business opportunities.

WAREHOUSE CONDOS IN MIAMI AIRPORT WEST DADE

The Third Quarter ended fairly stable with sales prices for class A warehouse condos in the Miami Airport West Dade sub-market at approximately $138 per sq. ft. There were no known sales for this quarter, however ComReal Miami did sell the property at 8565 NW 29 Street in Beacon Centre North for $787,000 or $109 per sq. ft. in June.

For those companies leasing class A warehouse condos in Doral, average lease rates should be around $8.25 to $8.50 per sq. ft. quoted as an industrial gross amount. In the last quarter, two known leases were completed within the Airport West Dade, class A condo parks. The leasing of 30,000 sq. ft. in Doral Commerce Park at $7.50 per sq. ft., and 8,700 sq. ft. in the International Corporate Park at $10.95 per sq. ft. Going hand in hand with the lease rates, the vacancy rate at the end of the quarter is 13.1% and is inching its way down.

For a more detailed study of Miami Airport West Dade Class A Warehouse Condos, please call Dan Berkovitz at 786-433-2098 or email at dberkovitz@comreal.com.

PRESS RELEASES !!!

ComReal represented 1 Sale A Day, an e-commerce company, in their relocation from New York to lease a 100,000+ sq. ft. warehouse space in Miami Lakes. Read more about the deal about the Miami Lakes Warehouse >>>

Sterling Transportation, Inc. moved from Medley to lease 28,500 sq. ft. on a long term basis. ComReal represented the owner. Read more about the distribution warehouse in Doral >>>

WAREHOUSE IN HIALEAH FOR SALE

ComReal has just listed a 57,000 sq. ft. warehouse that can be sold to an investor or an owner/user. For more details, please read further about the Hialeah warehouse for sale >>>