Apex Real Estate Services · DRE #01422904 · CCIM-Led
Hemet, CA · (951) 977-3251
Industrial sites, truck and trailer yards, retail pads, and development land across two counties. CoStar’s reports cover buildings, not land, so this hub reads land demand the way developers do: through the construction pipeline, vacancy, and the rules that decide what can be built.
The Inland Empire land market, on the commercial side, is the trade in development sites across Riverside and San Bernardino counties: industrial parcels, outdoor-storage yards, retail pads, and medical-office sites. CoStar’s reports cover buildings rather than land, so demand is read through the building pipeline. Per CoStar’s Q3 2026 reports, 14.0 million SF of industrial and 1.1 million SF of retail space are under construction.
Reviewed by Robert Mendieta Jr., CCIM (DRE #01422904), Associate Broker · Commercial Division, Apex Real Estate Services · Last updated: September 30, 2026
Land is worth what can be built on it, so the clearest read on land demand comes from the buildings land becomes. The table sets CoStar’s three Inland Empire building markets side by side, per Apex’s analysis of CoStar data (Q3 2026); Apex’s Inland Empire market reports carry the full quarterly read.
| Metric | Industrial | Retail | Office |
|---|---|---|---|
| Inventory | 795,864,262 SF | 204,044,811 SF | 78,947,777 SF |
| Vacancy | 8.7% | 6.0% | 4.7% |
| Availability | 12.5% | 6.6% | 5.9% |
| Market asking rent (per SF per month) | $1.03 | $2.29 | $2.57 |
| 12-mo asking rent growth | -0.9% | +3.1% | +3.0% |
| 12-mo net absorption | 6.1M SF | 1.6M SF | 106K SF |
| 12-mo deliveries | 7.5M SF | 845K SF | 58.1K SF |
| Under construction | 14,025,734 SF · 52.4% pre-leased | 1,079,890 SF · 74.1% pre-leased | 207,361 SF · 91.4% pre-leased |
| Forecast average vacancy | 7.3% | 6.0% | 5.1% |
| Market cap rate | 4.9% | 6.5% | 8.4% |
| Market sale price | $258/SF | $289/SF | $213/SF |
Source: CoStar Inland Empire Industrial, Retail and Office Market & Capital Markets reports, Q3 2026 (dated September 30, 2026). Rents are CoStar’s modeled market asking rents; CoStar quotes office on a full-service basis, so office does not compare directly with industrial or retail. Absorption and deliveries are trailing 12 months; forecast average vacancy is CoStar’s average over its forecast period, not a single-year figure. CoStar publishes no land series, and Apex does not estimate one.
The read: retail and office are building mostly to pre-committed demand, and industrial, by far the largest of the three, is building far less than it did, with forecast vacancy below today’s rate. That favors land that is entitled, well located, and sized for the tenants still expanding.
Industrial is by far the region’s largest building market, so its submarket data is the best map of where demand for ground is building or fading. CoStar’s 15 industrial submarkets are not city limits: the Airport Area, for example, covers Ontario, Rancho Cucamonga, Fontana and nearby areas as CoStar defines it.
| Submarket | Vacancy | 12-mo net absorption (SF) | 12-mo deliveries (000 SF) | Under construction (000 SF) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Airport Area | 8.2% | -862,131 | 1,329 | 5,583 |
| Beaumont/Hemet | 19.7% | -2,410,007 | 0 | 312 |
| Chino/Chino Hills | 6.2% | -595,985 | 20 | 0 |
| Coachella Valley | 4.3% | 726,474 | 681 | 5 |
| Corona/Eastvale | 7.5% | -654,563 | 0 | 0 |
| Mojave River Valley | 13.4% | 874,689 | 1,891 | 2,500 |
| Moreno Valley/Perris | 9.6% | 5,381,308 | 2,193 | 1,998 |
| Redlands/Loma Linda | 8.2% | 1,607,992 | 565 | 0 |
| Riverside | 7.5% | -1,054,652 | 39 | 0 |
| Riverside Outlying | 10.5% | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| San Bernardino | 10.5% | 2,333,201 | 590 | 570 |
| San Bernardino Outlying | 17.2% | -58,500 | 0 | 0 |
| South Riverside | 5.4% | 359,935 | 63 | 3,057 |
| Twentynine Palms | Not reported | 11,230 | 0 | 0 |
| Upland/Montclair | 5.8% | 435,623 | 30 | 0 |
Source: Apex’s analysis of CoStar data, Inland Empire Industrial Market Report, Q3 2026 (dated September 30, 2026). Absorption and deliveries are trailing 12 months.
Moreno Valley/Perris led all 15 submarkets with 5,381,308 SF of 12-month net absorption, and CoStar describes it as offering ample developable land at affordable pricing near major logistics hubs. San Bernardino and Redlands/Loma Linda ranked second and third.
Beaumont/Hemet sits at the other end: 19.7% vacancy, the highest in CoStar’s Q3 2026 submarket table, after large move-outs that included SHEIN vacating 815,000 SF in Cherry Valley. CoStar still counts 4,182,492 SF of industrial space proposed there over the next eight quarters, so land there should be underwritten against today’s vacancy.
Proposals far exceed what is under way. CoStar’s submarket reports count 16,207,476 SF proposed over the next eight quarters in the Mojave River Valley, 8,873,828 SF in the Airport Area, and 5,331,869 SF in Moreno Valley/Perris. Proposed projects still need approvals, financing, and often a tenant, so not all will be built, but where they cluster suggests where developers control or want land.
Industrial land values track what developers can finance and lease. Per Apex’s analysis of CoStar data, construction has thinned substantially from a 45.7 million SF peak in 2022 to 14.0 million SF. Deliveries fell to roughly 14 million SF in 2025 and could drop below 10 million SF in 2026, and starts slowed to 9 million SF in 2025, a decades-plus low, on weaker leasing prospects, declining rent potential, and tighter lending standards.
The overhang sits in the middle of the market: nearly 75 million SF has been completed since 2023 and 25% of it is still available, and availability peaks at 18% for buildings of 250,000 to 500,000 SF. CoStar’s base case still has vacancy falling from 8.7% to 8% in 2027 and near 7% by the end of 2028, with tariff-driven import swings and lower retail-spending projections as the risks. For land, that reads as recovering demand, not a boom.
Location decides the rest. CoStar notes that large modern facilities with high clear heights and significant power, such as Amazon’s 2.5 million SF fulfillment center under construction in Hesperia, are difficult to replicate closer to the ports because of land constraints. In the Airport Area, where construction remains concentrated, hundreds of acres of former dairy land north of Chino Airport have been assembled and entitled for industrial redevelopment, per CoStar, while mid-sized deliveries have extended southeast into Norco, Corona, and Perris.
Capital is still pursuing ground, selectively. In the San Bernardino submarket, CoStar notes that investors accumulated entitled and approved sites as land values rose, and continue to pursue sites despite near-term softness. In Moreno Valley, the World Logistics Center, which CoStar describes as fully entitled, is planned at over 40 million SF across 2,600 acres, roughly 10% of the city’s land area, south of the 60 freeway between Interstate 10 and I-215.
Land also rides inside building trades. In December 2025, per CoStar, a 2002-built, 526,000-SF logistics facility on 56 acres in San Bernardino, including approximately 30 acres of excess land, sold for $123 million. That is a leased building plus its land, not a land comparable, but it suggests buyers will still pay for surplus acreage.
Finished-building pricing sets the ceiling for land. CoStar puts the industrial market cap rate at 4.9% and the market sale price at $258/SF, and reports that cap rates on logistics sales above $10 million have expanded roughly 150 to 200 basis points into the mid-5% to 6% range. A developer’s land bid is the residual: finished value, less construction, financing, lease-up costs, and profit. Apex underwrites land that way, parcel by parcel, with the same cap rate math a lender will apply.
In Apex’s view, entitlement risk now moves land value as much as the market cycle does. California’s AB 98 (Chapter 931, Statutes of 2024), as amended by SB 415 (Chapter 316, Statutes of 2025), sets statewide siting and design standards for new or expanded logistics-use developments from January 1, 2026. The provisions that matter most for land:
| Provision | What the statute requires | Section |
|---|---|---|
| Setback, industrial-zoned sites | Buildings of 250,000 SF or more with loading bays within 900 feet of a sensitive receptor must keep those bays at least 300 feet from the receptor’s property line. | § 65098.1(a) |
| Setback, land needing a rezone | Projects on land not zoned industrial, or needing a rezone, must keep loading bays at least 500 feet from the receptor’s property line: anywhere in the warehouse concentration region, and elsewhere when a loading bay would sit within 900 feet of a sensitive receptor. | § 65098.1(b), (c) |
| Truck routes | Cities and counties in the region were to designate truck routes by January 1, 2026; from January 1, 2028, new logistics projects must be accessible via arterial roads, major thoroughfares, or local roads predominantly serving commercial, agricultural, or industrial uses. | § 65302.02 |
| Region and receptors | The warehouse concentration region is unincorporated Riverside and San Bernardino counties plus Chino, Colton, Fontana, Jurupa Valley, Moreno Valley, Ontario, Perris, Rancho Cucamonga, Redlands, Rialto, Riverside, and San Bernardino. Sensitive receptors include homes, schools, daycare facilities, and certain parks used mainly by children. | § 65098(e), (h) |
Source: Cal. Gov. Code §§ 65098, 65098.1 and 65302.02, as amended by SB 415, effective January 1, 2026. Plain-language summary, not legal advice.
For land near homes and schools, the effect is geometric: setback distance, zoning, and truck access now limit how much logistics building a parcel can hold, and therefore what a developer can pay for it. Industrial-zoned parcels buffered from homes and schools, with arterial truck access, are in Apex’s experience the hardest land to replace. Whether the rules reach a particular yard or project turns on the statute’s definition of logistics use, so confirm with land-use counsel and the city.
Local rules layer on top. In Redlands, the City Council voted 5–0 on November 18, 2025 to direct staff to draft an ordinance prohibiting new warehouses citywide, including parcel assemblage for new warehouses. It has not been adopted: on September 1, 2026, the Council voted 5–0 to continue the hearing on Ordinance Text Amendment No. 372 to October 6, 2026, per the City’s September 1 minutes. Separately, CoStar shows no industrial space under construction in its Redlands/Loma Linda submarket, which extends beyond the city, against a 10-year average of 590,000 SF. Apex’s Beaumont commercial development guide walks through the entitlement questions for one I-10 city.
Large industrial parcels trade on access, power, and entitlement more than on acreage. Construction stays concentrated in the Airport Area, and national developers have started speculative buildings over 1 million SF in Menifee and Ontario (CoStar, Q3 2026). In Apex’s experience, today’s likeliest buyer for a large parcel is a build-to-suit user or a developer with a tenant in hand. Start with a free property valuation, or see what warehouse space costs in the Inland Empire.
Demand has held at the small end: availability is under 7% for buildings below 50,000 SF, and owner-users are paying for new product. The three Troy Court Industrial Center buildings in Jurupa Valley, 48,400 to 80,200 SF, sold to users in late 2025 and early 2026 for $270/SF to $280/SF, per CoStar. In Apex’s read, that demand carries through to smaller industrial parcels near freeway access. Test a purchase with the own-vs-lease calculator and Apex’s SBA 504 guide.
Industrial outdoor storage, or IOS, is land that earns income as a yard, for truck and trailer parking or container and equipment storage, with little or no building. Its value rests on zoning and use permits, which vary by city. Apex’s live example is a ±2.18-acre fenced, graded yard at 13650 Calimesa Blvd in Yucaipa with Interstate 10 visibility, offered at $0.12/SF per month on a ground lease (see the Yucaipa yard listing). Apex has also closed a secured-yard lease in Beaumont (see recent transactions). The full primer is Apex’s guide to industrial outdoor storage.
Retail building stays near housing growth: about 1 million SF was delivered in 2025, near the 10-year average of 860,000 SF, and 1.1 million SF is under construction, 74.1% pre-leased (CoStar, Q3 2026). Pads recur in these projects, from proposed drive-thru pads at The Orchard Center in South Riverside County to quick-service pads preleased at Greenspot Crossings in Highland. On the office side, nearly all of the roughly 210,000 SF under construction is medical, and traditional office trades well below replacement cost, which, CoStar notes, inhibits new development and, in Apex’s read, keeps speculative office land demand thin. Apex’s active listings include signalized-corner land on E. 1st Street in Beaumont.
Vacancy, rents, absorption, and the pipeline across all 15 CoStar industrial submarkets: the Inland Empire industrial market report.
Professional and medical office demand, rents, and a small, mostly medical pipeline: the Inland Empire office market report.
Neighborhood centers, pads, and big-box backfills by submarket: the Inland Empire retail market report.
Retail, small-bay industrial, office, and land across nine desert cities: Coachella Valley commercial real estate.
Robert Mendieta Jr., CCIM (DRE #01422904) brings investment-grade analysis to land: residual land value, absorption data, and the cap-rate math a developer’s lender will use.
Apex works the Inland Empire from its Hemet office, from Beaumont and Yucaipa on the I-10 to the western logistics core, plus the Coachella Valley, with no hand-offs.
Acquisition, disposition, ground leases, and landlord and tenant representation on industrial sites, yards, retail pads, and development land. Commercial only.
You work directly with the broker, Robert Mendieta Jr., CCIM, from first call to closing. Joseph Lombera, Commercial Agent + CMO (DRE #01971957), supports marketing and deal flow.
In Apex’s read, it is recovering selectively rather than booming. Per Apex’s analysis of CoStar data, industrial construction has thinned to 14.0 million SF from a 45.7 million SF peak in 2022, and CoStar forecasts industrial vacancy easing from 8.7% to 8% in 2027 as completions slow. Retail has 1.1 million SF under construction, 74.1% pre-leased. Apex sees demand as strongest for entitled, well-located parcels and weakest for ground that needs a rezone or sits close to homes and schools.
CoStar’s reports publish no land-price average, and Apex does not quote one. Land value turns on zoning, entitlement status, utilities, truck access, and how much building the AB 98 setbacks allow. Developers price land as a residual: what the finished building would be worth, minus construction, financing, lease-up costs, and profit. For context, CoStar’s Q3 2026 market sale price for Inland Empire industrial is $258 per SF and its market cap rate is 4.9%, market-wide estimates across existing buildings, not a value for new construction. Apex prepares a parcel-specific valuation as part of a free consultation.
It may, if the land is planned for a new or expanded logistics use. Since January 1, 2026, logistics buildings of 250,000 SF or more on industrial-zoned sites, with loading bays within 900 feet of a sensitive receptor, must keep those bays at least 300 feet away. In the warehouse concentration region, which covers unincorporated Riverside and San Bernardino counties and 12 cities, land that is not zoned industrial or needs a rezone requires 500 feet; outside the region, the same 500 feet applies when a loading bay would sit within 900 feet of a sensitive receptor. Confirm applicability with land-use counsel; this is not legal advice.
Not as of September 30, 2026. On November 18, 2025, the Redlands City Council voted 5–0 to direct staff to draft an ordinance prohibiting new warehouses citywide. That proposal, Ordinance Text Amendment No. 372, is still pending: on September 1, 2026, the Council voted 5–0 to continue its public hearing to October 6, 2026, according to the City’s minutes. Owners and buyers of industrial-zoned land in Redlands should confirm the current rules with the city and follow the hearing.
Yard land earns income from truck and trailer parking, containers, or equipment storage, usually with little or no building, so its value rests on zoning and use permits that vary by city. Apex is currently offering a ±2.18-acre fenced, graded yard at 13650 Calimesa Blvd in Yucaipa with Interstate 10 visibility at $0.12 per SF per month on a ground lease. Verify any parcel’s permitted uses with the city’s planning department before you buy or lease.
Yes, mostly near new rooftops. Per CoStar’s Q3 2026 report, about 1 million SF of retail was delivered in 2025, near the 10-year average of 860,000 SF, and 1.1 million SF is under construction, 74.1% of it pre-leased. Pads for drive-thru and quick-service users recur in new centers. CoStar’s demographic table, using Oxford Economics data, forecasts household growth of 1.1% a year over the next five years for the Inland Empire, versus 0.5% for the U.S.
Call Robert Mendieta Jr., CCIM at (951) 977-3251, email robert@apex-res.com, or use the form on this page. Sellers should bring the parcel number, zoning, utilities, access, and entitlement history; Apex will identify the likely buyer pool, check the AB 98 setbacks, and underwrite a residual land value. Buyers should bring their use, size, power, and timing requirements, and Apex will canvass sites from its Hemet office, including ground that never reaches a public listing.
Whether you hold an industrial-zoned parcel, a yard on the I-10, a retail pad, or acreage awaiting entitlement, start with a data-first conversation: zoning and access, the AB 98 setback check, your buyer pool, and a straight read on value. No call center, no hand-offs.
Apex Real Estate Services · 3750 E. Florida Ave Suite A, Hemet, CA 92544 · DRE #01422904
Apex Real Estate Services · Robert Mendieta Jr., CCIM, Associate Broker · Commercial Division, DRE #01422904 · 3750 E. Florida Ave Suite A, Hemet, CA 92544 · (951) 977-3251 · Joseph Lombera, Commercial Agent + CMO, DRE #01971957. This page is dated September 30, 2026. Market data: CoStar Inland Empire industrial, retail, and office market, capital markets, and submarket reports, Q3 2026 (dated September 30, 2026); California Government Code §§ 65098, 65098.1, and 65302.02 (AB 98, Stats. 2024, ch. 931, as amended by SB 415, Stats. 2025, ch. 316); City of Redlands City Council minutes of November 18, 2025 and September 1, 2026; and Apex’s listing and transaction pages. CoStar publishes no land-price series and none is estimated here. Figures describe CoStar’s market or submarket definitions, not city limits, are subject to change, and should be independently verified. The statutory summary is not legal advice. Information is deemed reliable but not guaranteed.
