June 15, 2020
GOLETA – An 11,200 square-foot industrial building in Goleta was recently sold in an off-market transaction by Majestic Asset Management. The buyer was an unnamed owner-user based in the Goleta area. The closing price was not disclosed.
The property, 5551 Ekwill Street, is on a 1.02 acre parcel off of Ward Drive. Majestic purchased the building as part of a multi-property transaction in late 2010, which they then repositioned as the 45,000 square-foot Majestic Industrial Park. This is the first property within the campus they have sold, and they are considering selling the remaining three buildings.
Francois DeJohn, Liam Murphy, and Steve Hayes of Hayes Commercial Group represented Majestic Asset Management in the sale. Dan Moll, also of Hayes Commercial Group, represented the buyer.
“Owner-user demand for commercial property has been elevated during the past few years,” Murphy said. “This sale provided further evidence of that trend.” The percentages of sales purchased by owner-users in 2018 and 2019 were 51% and 63%, respectively, for the South Coast, far higher than the recent historical norm.
Based in Agoura Hills, Majestic Asset Management manages, owns and develops investment property primarily in Los Angeles, Ventura, and Santa Barbara counties. They own and operate 15 successful commercial and apartment properties in the greater Santa Barbara area, in addition to their portfolio in other regions.
Following this sale, Majestic’s portfolio in Goleta consists of 290,000 square feet of office, R&D and industrial space on nearly 17 acres. Most recently, they acquired two office buildings totaling 133,000 square feet at 125 & 175 Cremona Drive in 2019.
“Majestic has played a significant part in the improving appeal of commercial real estate in Goleta during recent years,” DeJohn said. “Four years ago, office vacancy in Goleta was 12.5%. Today it’s below 5%.”
There have been only 20 commercial sale transactions on the South Coast to date in 2020, largely due to the COVID-19 pandemic. “Completing a sale at all was challenging during the pandemic,” Murphy said. “And many have predicted that sales prices would drop given the current economic conditions, but this transaction defied those expectations.”