Buyer & investor representation
Buy Inland Empire Industrial Property
On-market and off-market warehouse, distribution, IOS, flex, and big-box opportunities across Riverside and San Bernardino counties — underwritten with real comps, not asking prices.
Q2 2026 is a buyer's market in most of the Inland Empire, and emphatically not in all of it. Direct vacancy is 7.6% with availability at 12.9%, which means choice and negotiating room — particularly for larger east-side product, where vacancy runs 9.0%. The exception is industrial outdoor storage, where supply is constrained by zoning, institutional capital is competing, and yards trade near a 6.5% cap. Knowing which of those two markets your requirement sits in determines whether you should be patient or decisive.
Who I work with
Owner-users — operators buying a building to run their business from, where the decision is as much about payroll, truck counts, and power as it is about real estate. For this group the financing structure usually matters more than the price per foot.
Investors — buyers underwriting an income stream, whether that is a leased distribution building, a multi-tenant park, or an IOS yard with a trucking tenant in place. Here the lease, the credit behind it, and the rollover risk drive value more than the structure does.
How I underwrite a building before you offer
- Comparable sales and leases in that submarket and size range — what actually traded, not what is being asked.
- Physical fit — clear height, dock-high and grade doors, truck court depth, trailer parking, sprinkler type, power service, and office ratio against your operation.
- Entitlement and zoning, which for IOS is the entire investment thesis. Permitted use versus legal-nonconforming is a valuation cliff, not a detail.
- The income — in-place rent against market, term remaining, escalations, tenant credit, and what re-leasing would cost if they left.
- What it would rent for if your plans change — anchored to $1.11/SF/mo NNN in Inland Empire West and $0.94/SF/mo NNN in Inland Empire East.
Where to start looking
The Inland Empire Industrial Market Report covers current vacancy, rents, IOS pricing, and recent notable trades. The submarket pages break pricing down by city and asset type, so you can compare Ontario against Perris on the same terms. If you are weighing a purchase against staying in a lease, run the Lease vs. Buy calculator first — it answers the question most owner-users are actually asking.
Already own something and want to know what it is worth? That is the seller side, and the Value Estimator is the fastest way to frame it.
Source: Pricing ranges derived from CBRE Q2 2026, Colliers Q1 2026, Kidder Mathews Q2 2026, Savills Q1 2026, Lee & Associates Mid-2026, Q2 2026. Ranges are directional and not a substitute for underwriting a specific asset.
By Dan Scodeller, Senior Vice President | Principal, Lee & Associates Last updated Data through Q2 2026
Questions about buying industrial property
How much does an industrial building cost in the Inland Empire?
Warehouse and distribution product generally trades between $300 and $400 per square foot in Inland Empire West, and $250 to $325 in Inland Empire East, as of Q2 2026. Where a specific building lands in that spread is set by clear height, dock-high door count and truck court depth, power service, sprinkler type, office finish, and freeway access — not by square footage alone. Big-box product prices lower per foot and flex prices higher. Those are directional ranges for framing a search; underwriting an actual building means pulling the comparable sales in that submarket and size range.
How much do you need for a down payment on an industrial building?
Conventional commercial financing generally wants 25% to 35% down. If you are an owner-user who will occupy at least 51% of the building, an SBA 504 loan can bring that to roughly 10%, structured as a bank first plus a fixed-rate CDC second. That difference decides more deals than pricing does — the same building is a stretch at 30% down and comfortable at 10%. If you are an operator rather than an investor, confirm 504 eligibility with a lender before you conclude a purchase is out of reach.
What do industrial outdoor storage (IOS) yards sell for in the Inland Empire?
Roughly $1,500,000 to $2,300,000 per usable acre in Inland Empire West and $850,000 to $1,450,000 in Inland Empire East, trading around a 6.5% cap rate. That is an unusually wide band because yard value swings hard on things that are invisible in a listing: whether outdoor storage is a permitted use or merely legal-nonconforming, coverage ratio, surface condition, secured perimeter, and truck circulation. Zoning status alone can move a site 40%. Verifying the entitlement before you are hard on your deposit is the whole game in IOS.
Are there off-market industrial properties in the Inland Empire?
Yes, and in the segments with the least supply — IOS especially — a meaningful share of what trades is never publicly marketed. Owners of yards and smaller infill buildings are often approached directly and sell without a listing. The practical way to see that flow is to register a specific requirement: size range, submarket, clear height, power, zoning tolerance, and timing. That turns you into someone a broker can call when something surfaces, rather than someone reacting to listings everyone else has already seen.
Should I buy or keep leasing?
It turns on your time horizon and your cost of capital. Owner-users planning to stay seven years or more who can fund the down payment usually build more wealth owning, because principal paydown and appreciation accrue to them instead of a landlord. Shorter horizons, uncertain headcount, or better uses for the cash favour leasing — and in a 7.6% vacancy market, lease concessions are real. Run your own numbers in the Lease vs. Buy calculator, then have the assumptions checked against an actual building.
Tell me what you're looking for
Size range, submarket, clear height, power, and timing — that is enough for me to start sending you things, including the ones that never get publicly marketed. Call or text 949-763-3387.