To say that 2022 was a good year for commercial real estate brokers in Metro Phoenix is an understatement. And looking at some of the deals closed by the top commercial real estate producers of 2022 supports that understatement.
DEEPER DIVE: Phoenix industrial rents increase 31% in 12 months
The Phoenix industrial real estate market, already one of the strongest in the U.S., closed a very robust 2022, as rent rates continued to increase, more space was added to the construction pipeline, and vacancy remained low, according to research from Transwestern Real Estate Services.
In nine Phoenix submarkets, industrial inventory totaled 293.5 million square feet of space as of the close of 2022. The market has an additional 56 million square feet of industrial space in construction, a figure that is dwarfed by the 108 million square feet of proposed space. Average rents increased approximately 20% year-over-year across all submarkets to $11.84 per square foot. Absorption for the quarter totaled 4.8 million square feet, bringing the year-to-date total to 22.8 million square feet.
“I’m not sure ‘on an absolute tear’ is a proper research term, but it has become difficult to come up with superlatives on how hot the Phoenix industrial market has been over the past year,” says Jennifer Barili, senior research analyst for Transwestern. “The market continues to grow and shows no sign of stopping. For example, last quarter there was 40 million square feet of industrial space under construction market-wide and this quarter there is more than that in the West Valley submarket alone.”
Industrial isn’t the only hot sector. Retail is even getting in on the act. The Phoenix metropolitan retail market tallied a year-end 2022 vacancy rate of 5.7%, which is a 40-year low for the market, and 250 basis points lower than 2020’s vacancy of 8.3%. This breakthrough performance was fueled by absorption of 3.6 million square feet of space, which far eclipsed the 10-year average which was 1.5 million leased square feet.
“The Phoenix metro area has not experienced this level of positive retail performance in over a decade,” says Dave Cheatham, president of Velocity Retail Group’s Phoenix office. “Vacancy rates have not been this low in over 40 years. The absorption recorded in 2022 has more than doubled that of pre-recession numbers and is nearly a 60% increase over 2021, which drove down the vacancy.”
The high tide for Phoenix vacancy was in 2010 when the vacancy rate reached 13.3%.
Top commercial real estate producers of 2022
With things looking so positive for the commercial real estate sector in Metro Phoenix, it’s a great time to meet the top commercial real estate producers of 2022, along with some of the deals that made 2022 a special year.
Commercial Properties Inc.
Top 10 agents for 2022
1. Leroy Breinholt Team
2. Jeff Hays, Samuel Rutledge
3. Matt Zaccardi
4. Tyson Breinholt Team
5. Trent Rustan
6. Eric Jones, John G. Soldo, SIOR
7. Brandon Koplin
8. Darin Edwards
9. Eric Butler, Phill Tomlinson, Paul Fox, Murray Clarkson, Tanner Ramsay
10. Langdon Bridges
Avison Young
Top 5 brokers
1. Mark Seale, principal, director of Brokerage Services
2. Kevin Helland, senior vice president
3. James DeCremer, principal
4. Matt Milinovich, principal
5. Drew Sampson, vice president
Spotlight deal: One of the most notable transactions from 2022 was the 50,453-sf sublease at the Park Place South building, located at 1700 South Price in Chandler, now occupied by Northrop Gruman. Mark Seale brokered the deal for the defense contractor to sublease the space from Voya
Capital Asset Management
Top 8 brokers (in alphabetical order)
Jennifer Gabrych
Jason Hersker
Jerry Horden
Natalie Jaafar
Valorie Martin
Scott Smith
Trent Wilson
Dena Zell
Spotlight deal: Capital Asset Management’s development arm, Capital Development Group purchased over 70 acres in Arizona, growing it’s Build-To-Rent portfolio. The Park at Three Point, The Park at Thumb Butte, and The Park at Lynx Creek, all class “A” family, pet, and community-friendly developments with a focus on lifestyle and amenities.
CBRE
Top 10 brokers (in alphabetical order)
Daniel Calihan
Sean Cunningham
Patrick Feeney Jr.
Cooper Fratt
John Grady
Asher Gunter
Mark Krison
Rocco Mandala
Matthew Pesch
John Werstler
Spotlight deal: CBRE negotiated the sale of Azul at Spectrum and Borrego at Spectrum, a combined 624-unit multifamily community in Gilbert. The Ezralow Company acquired the asset from San Diego-based The Premiere Residential. The deal was worth $238,165,000 (Azul at Spectrum sold for $138,221,000 and Borrego at Spectrum sold for $99,944,000) combined.
Colliers
Top 10 brokers
Don MacWilliam and Payson MacWilliam (industrial)
Cindy Cooke (multifamily)
Todd Noel (office)
Rob Martensen (industrial)
Paul Sieczkowski (industrial)
Brad Cooke (multifamily)
Jim Keeley
Mindy Korth (capital markets)
Brian Woods (retail)
Spotlight deal: The MacWilliam team represented Majestic Realty in the lease of its 489,284-square-foot warehouse. The team encouraged Majestic to split the building for two tenants in order to increase revenue and shorten lease-up time. DSV Air & Sea, Inc. and Dedicated Delivery Professionals leased the building prior to construction completion. Results were exceeding pro-forma by over 30% and reducing tenant improvements.
Cushman & Wakefield
Top 10 brokers
1. William Strong
2. Michael Haenel and Andy Markham (team)
3. Phil Haenel
4. Adam Madison
5. Scott Boardman
6. Peter Menna and Devpal Gupta (team)
7. Paul Boyle
8. Devin Beasley
Spotlight deal: Will Strong of Cushman & Wakefield brokered the deal that set the record for the highest gross industrial building sale ever achieved in the City of Buckeye: The $130 million sale of 10 West Commerce Park in Buckeye, which is home to Funko’s U.S. distribution center. the seller was Creation and the buyer was Intercontinental Real Estate Corporation.
JLL
Top 10 brokers
1. Mark Bauer
2. Steve Larsen
3. Tony Lydon
4. Marc Hertzberg
5. Pat Williams
6. Riley Gilbert
7. Pat Harlan
8. Andrew Medley
9. Kyle Westfall
10. John Lydon
Spotlight deal: JLL represented QTS Data Centers in the acquisition of its second metro Phoenix campus – totaling 391 acres for $255.3 million – from Merit Partners/First Industrial. The deal required continuous coordination with Glendale to ensure project support, APS for power requirements, and prevailing in highly competitive negotiations involving five other bidders.
Land Advisors
Top 10 brokers (in alphabetical order):
Wes Campbell
Trey Davis
Ben Heglie
Kirk P. McCarville, CCIM
Bret Rinehart
Mike Schwab
Ryan Semro
Greg Vogel
Will White
Bobby Wuertz
Spotlight deal: Land Advisors Organization represented the sellers of Saddleback Heights, a 5,261-acre master planned community site which sold for $106 million. This parcel is one of the last remaining development opportunities of its size in the northwest valley. Castle Hill Partners, an Austin-based national community developer purchased the property with plans to break ground in 2024.
The Land Agency
Top 3 brokers (work as a team)
Howard Weinstein,
Patty Lafferty
Max Kuesel
Spotlight deal: Anderson Farms is a 640-acre planned community located within the City of Maricopa. The Land Agency exclusively listed the property and brought together a partnership with the landowner, a developer, and a homebuilder. This brand-new master-planned community includes over 2,100 single-family home-sites, multi-family parcels, and a commercial-retail component.
Menlo Group
Top 9 brokers
Top Producers (based on 2022 sales volume)
1. Tom Ellixson, CCIM
2. Rich Andrus, MBA, CCIM, SIOR
3. Stuart Milne, CCIM, SIOR
4. Tanner Milne, MBA, CCIM, SIOR
5. Steve Berghoff, CCIM, SIOR
6. Jason Triano, CCIM
7. Mark Haslip, MBA, CCIM, SIOR
8. Grafton Milne, CCIM, SIOR
9. Nyal Sewell
Spotlight deal: Menlo Group sold Lake Biltmore Corporate Center, a 102,000-square-foot, two-building, multi-tenant office property, for $11.5 million. Stuart Milne and Tanner Milne represented the Phoenix property as a leasing assignment for nearly 10 years, and the center was 70% occupied at the time of the sale.
MHG Commercial
Top 6 brokers
Aaron Dutcher
Nick Skogen
David Pierce
Carla Magee
Justin Skogen
Brad Scott
Spotlight deal: MHG Commercial closed a deal for 1619 S. Arizona Ave., Chandler, that was not the largest, but the most interesting one to navigate because the buyer was from out of state and the clients were not tech-savvy and preferred to communicate exclusively by phone and in person. Despite this, MHG successfully navigated the deal thanks to strong communication and collaboration.
NAI Horizon
Top 10 brokers
1. Denise Nunez, self-storage
2. Matt Harper, CCIM, retail
3. Laurel Lewis, office
4. Mike Myrick, CCIM, office
5. Mark Wilcke, industrial/land
6. Chris Gerow, retail
7. Shelby Tworek, retail
8. Jeff Adams, industrial/land
9. Gabe Ortega, retail
10. Lane Neville, investment sales/land
Spotlight deal: Vault Storage & RV LLC purchased a 59,239 NRSF self-storage and retail asset for $8.45 million in 2020. The new owner expanded the property to 150,260 NRSF to include covered RV and additional storage. In May 2022, the property sold for $25.5 million. Both listings were represented by Denise Nunez, executive managing director of NAI Horizon.
Newmark
Top 10 brokers
1. Ryan Ash
2. Brad Goff
3. Brett Polachek
4. Chris Canter
5. Tom Adelson
5. Mike Woodrick
7. Kathleen Morgan
8. Jesse Goldsmith
9. Steve Julius
10. Chris Krewson
Spotlight deal: Newmark sold 44 Monroe, a 184-unit luxury multifamily community in Downtown Phoenix, for $93.5 million. Newmark represented the seller, HSL Asset Management, in the sale to an undisclosed buyer. 44 Monroe is a luxury multifamily community built in 2008 and located in the epicenter of Phoenix, Arizona’s vibrant downtown. It is Arizona’s tallest residential tower.
Northmarq
Top brokers: Northmarq’s Phoenix investment sales team includes Trevor Koskovich, president – investment sales; Jesse Hudson, managing director; Ryan Boyle, vice president; and Logan Baca, senior associate. Their total 2022 transaction volume was $3,581,295,201 ($3.6 Billion rounded up for deals sold and financed) or $1,917,451,500 for just deals sold.
Spotlight deal: Northmarq Phoenix brokered the sale of Del Mar Terrace in the West Valley for $255 million, representing the Phoenix market’s second highest overall sales price and the Phoenix MSA’s second-largest apartment complex. Northmarq’s Dallas Debt/Equity team financed the acquisition with a bridge loan to fill almost the entire capital stack.
ORION Investment Real Estate
Top 10 brokers (in alphabetical order)
Angelessa Ritchie
Jay Krew
Larry Kush
Linda Fritz-Salazar
Mary Nollenberger
Michael Achtman
Michael Douglas
Nick Miner, CCIM
William Xander
Zack Mishkin
Spotlight deal: ORION’s Land Market leader, Larry Kush, closed 140 acres for $39.5 million (approximately $6.90 per square foot). This bulk sale of land, located in Laveen (near the 202 Freeway and Dobbins Road) is a huge advancement toward providing much needed industrial and commercial space to the booming West Valley.
Western Retail Advisors
Top 10 brokers (in alphabetical order)
Bryan Babits
Neil Board
Ryan Desmond
Brian Gausden
Bryan Ledbetter
Kalen Rickard
Charles Skaggs
Chris Stamets
Eric Termansen
Dave Uhles
Spotlight deal: In 2022, Western Retail Advisors completed 53 transactions at SimonCRE’s Village at Prasada, the first power center built in the Phoenix metro area in 15 years. WRA’s leasing efforts in partnership with SimonCRE brought forth over 700,000 s.f. of shopping, entertainment, and restaurants, solidifying the project’s dominance in Surprise.
