The most recent deal: Glendale, Calif.-based real estate investment trust PS Business Parks (Amex: PSB, $69.43) edged 15 other bidders to acquire Boca Commerce Park and a portfolio of light industrial properties in Wellington. “We had institutional interest, private interest, condo converters both locally and from all over the country,” says Douglas K. Mandel, a broker with Marcus & Millichap who handled the deal along with Adam Tiktin and Ben Holzhauer.
There’s more to come, according to Colliers International’s 2007 Real Estate Forecast: “A wall of private capital will continue to scour the world.”
The real estate market isn’t gone. It’s shifted focus. Think rebar instead of residential. Dock loading is suddenly sexy. Warehouses are the must-have commodity.
As home sales sputter, South Florida commercial real estate has been quietly fueling the economy. And with some big wallets rolling into town it shows little sign of abating.