INDUSTRIAL SUMMIT SNEAK PEAK

Continuing our industrial theme today, remember that we have lined up a star-studded panel of experts for our Industrial Real Estate Summit Breakfast & Schmooze tomorrow morning at the Westin Galleria (you can register here). Join CBRE vice chairman Jack Fraker (above, at Bisnow Dallas? July 29 Capital Markets event), Duke Realty EVP Jeff Turner, and IDI SVP and regional development officer Doug Johnson. Jack tells us portfoliopremiums have returned (5% to 10% depending on quality and location) when it comes to industrial deals. Demand?s strong across the board on both large and small deals and attractive debt has brought new players into the market and created additional pressure on pricing, he tells us. Cap rate compression started 12 to 15 months ago and is still trending downward. YTD, Jack and his local colleagues Gary Carr, Russell Ingrum, Josh McArtor, andJonathan Bryan (and their extended national team) have closed 15M SF totaling just under $1B in Texas and across the country.

Jeff tells us he's been spending lots of his time in Phoenix andCalifornia and word on the street is that business has been picking up in the Inland Empire in the past 12 months. The question remains, though, if it will stay that way for the long term, he says. If it's a correction in the market, then why is it occurring now? There's a flurry of activity in acquisitions in on the West Coast and a shortage of space for large bulk users. That bodes well for the industry, he tells us. As part of Duke?s executive committee, Jeff says he's anticipating questions about how REITs are doing trades, their key strategies this year and beyond, as well as discussing the pros/cons of being a large public REIT. You can be the one to ask those questions. Here's another chance to sign up.

We didn't ask Doug too much about his handicap, but we did quiz him about industrial leasing, which he says is stronger now than it has been since 2008; IDI saw increased leasing in the second half of 2010, then a brief lull in Q1. Doug tells us that IDI has more than ahalf-dozen leases out for signature. He's also starting to see some spec project starts in California and Florida, hinting that IDI might be joining in that move. (IDI has constructed 12M SF across the Metroplex since 1994.) There's more build-to-suit activity as well for IDI, especially in Atlanta where large blocks of space are filling up. The dad of two high-schoolers, weekends are spent more often at the family lake house at Cedar Creek than on the links. Very last chance to sign up! See you tomorrow morning.