Goleta Magazine 2022-2023 - 51

Entrance to commercial building space located at 80 Coromar Dr.
Commercial Real Estate
A record year for sales, a recovery year for leases
BY F R ANCOI S D E JOHN
With momentum building each quarter,
2021 proved a banner year for
South Coast commercial real estate,
posting 117 sales valued at $770 million
($524 million excluding hotels), all
record-high totals.
There were a record 49 off-market
sales in 2021, which reflects highdemand
conditions. At the same
time, the number of on-market sales
also established a new high mark
of 68 transactions. Nearly half of buyers were owner-users (as
opposed to investors), which is on par with the recent historical average.
For example, the Santa Barbara County Foodbank bought a
78,000-square-foot facility at 80-82 Coromar Drive in Goleta.
Office property sales volume was lower than expected in 2021,
but in early 2022 an investor purchased 6500 Hollister Avenue for
$21 million, and most recently a six-building campus on 12 acres at
Storke and Bollay was purchased by Majestic Asset Management
for approximately $50.6 million, the second-largest office/industrial
sale ever recorded in Goleta. Office investments traded at an average
cap rate of about 5.5%, which is consistent with pricing prior to
the pandemic.
There is abundant demand for commercial property from both owner-users
and investors. The two factors with potential to limit sales in
the coming year are lack of supply and rising interest rates.
The pandemic continued to cause unsteady demand for office
space during 2021, which slowed office leasing in Goleta. However,
the tepid volume did not cause an expansion in available space. The
vacancy rate was below 6% for the entirety of 2021 and finished the
year at a record low of 5.2%.
Goleta's retail leasing saw one of its most active leasing years yet.
Planet Fitness leased the 21,372-square-foot anchor space in the
Albertsons center at 7127 Hollister Ave. Vacancy decreased to 1.9%,
the lowest rate since 2015.
"
Goleta's commercial real estate
market has weathered the economic
turmoil of the past two years
remarkably well. Vacancy is low,
there is good demand from
buyers and tenants, and the outlook
is positive for the balance of 2022. "
FRANCOIS DEJOHN
Hayes Commercial Real Estate
2022 * 2 0 2 3 EDITION 51
Goleta Magazine 2022-2023

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