Bank‑owned listings heating up

Bank-owned industrial listings are showing up more often across Los Angeles and the Inland Empire as Southern California’s warehouse market works through higher vacancy and softer rents. (cbre.com 1) (cbre.com 2) In the Inland Empire, vacancy reached 7.8% in the core market in the first quarter of 2026, up 70 basis points from the prior quarter, while CBRE said big move-outs in buildings above 500,000 square feet drove much of the increase. Cushman & Wakefield put the broader Inland Empire vacancy rate even higher at 8.5% in Q1 2026. (cbre.com) (cushmanwakefield.com) Los Angeles is softer than it was in 2022 and 2023, but tighter than the Inland Empire. Colliers said Greater Los Angeles industrial vacancy rose to 5.9% in Q1 2026, and average asking rent fell for an eleventh straight quarter to $1.20 net per square foot. (colliers.com) A bank-owned listing usually means the lender has already taken back the property after a default and is now selling it. That can produce cleaner pricing than a long workout, especially for small and mid-size buildings that owner-users can occupy quickly. (crexi.com) (loopnet.com) Recent examples are concrete. A vacant lender-owned commercial-industrial property at 1420-1424 W. Slauson Ave. in Los Angeles is being marketed at $609,000 on LoopNet, or about $145 per square foot for a 4,200-square-foot building on two parcels. (loopnet.com) Another South Los Angeles offering memorandum markets 11310 S. Main St. as a “lender owned industrial building” at $795,000. In Adelanto, a 9517 Commerce Way listing is explicitly labeled “REO Sale: Lender Owned” on LoopNet. (loopnet.com 1) (loopnet.com 2) The buyer pool is not just institutional investors chasing giant logistics boxes. Kidder Mathews said private buyers accounted for about 50% of Inland Empire sales activity in the first quarter, and it expects vacancy to decline first for properties under 100,000 square feet. (kidder.com) That helps explain why smaller distressed listings are drawing attention. A 4,200-square-foot vacant building on Slauson can appeal to an occupier that wants to stop leasing, while a larger lender-owned asset can attract investors willing to fund repairs, lease-up, or a resale. (loopnet.com 1) (loopnet.com 2) The market is not in free fall. CBRE said Inland Empire leasing rose to 13.6 million square feet in Q1 2026, up 40.2% from Q4 2025, and JLL said Los Angeles began 2026 with signs of stabilization even as the correction cycle continued. (cbre.com) (jll.com) What is changing is leverage. With more empty space, more lender-controlled sales, and rents below their 2023 peak, Southern California’s hardest-to-enter industrial market is giving buyers more shots than it did a year ago. (colliers.com) (colliers.com)