Pacific Coast Business Times: South Coast commercial sales volume up 73 percent

Carpinteria industrial leases are on fire, Santa Barbara’s Funk Zone remains strong, Silicon Valley is pumping up South Coast real estate volume, and tech and coworking spaces are beginning to revitalize a struggling State Street.

Those were the underlining themes of the 12^th annual Radius Real Estate & Economic Forecast held Nov. 19.

On the South Coast, commercial sales stayed consistent to last year in terms of production, but saw a big spike in volume, up 73 percent from 2018 to $320 million, according to Paul Gamberdella, principal with Radius Commercial Real Estate.

The uptick in volume was due in large part to big real estate acquisitions led by CenCal Health and Microsoft. Gamberdella predicted next year should be “steady as she goes” in terms of commercial sales, with sales volume back at 2018 levels.

Commercial leasing on the South Coast has relatively remained the same the last few years, with small variations happening in sales, retail and industrial. Procore leads the way in Carpinteria, which “remains incredibly hot for industrial leasing,” Gene Deering, principal with Radius, said.

The Funk Zone remains the shining star in downtown Santa Barbara, and should continue as such, as the area expects to add a 200-plus room hotel in the next few years.

Even State Street, which has been sort of a black eye downtown as of recently, is beginning to see a revival, Deering said. He added that tech companies like Invoca and Honey have helped populate the area with foot traffic, and co-working spaces like Kiva, formally Impact Hub, are also contributing to downtown revitalization.

A full house at the Hilton Santa Barbara Beachfront Resort also heard a keynote speech by Christopher Thornberg, economist and founding partner of Beacon Economics.