Industrial, multifamily, and retail lead Delaware’s $200M+ CRE sales boom

By Jay L. White, MAI, CRE, Apex Realty Advisory

The key indicators of commercial real estate market health – liquidity and deal activity – show signs of stabilization in the first half of 2025. National transaction volume hit $75.4 billion in Q1 2025, up 27 percent year-over-year, signaling a recovery from 2023. However, overall transaction activity, including property count and dollar volume, declined compared to both the previous quarter and last year.

Below is a summary of larger (>$10 million) commercial real estate sales located throughout Delaware that occurred from January-June 2025. The sales volume tracked was up 141 percent in the first half of 2025 over the same period last year. Research into investment sales occurring over the past six months has reflected in-place cap rates from 5.42 to 8.03 percent, with a median of 7.03 percent.

- Reserve at Sawmill – a 149-unit garden apartment complex built in 1984 on 11.33 acres in Milford that sold in February for $23.2 million, or $155,705/unit.

- 313 Churchmans Road – six parcels comprising part of Walker Farm and totaling 62.03 acres, which sold in March for $15,696,500, or $253,047/acre and $18.75 FAR. The buyer plans to develop it into 837,000 s/f of industrial big-box warehouses in phases.

- PAM Rehabilitation Center of Dover – a two-story, 42,140 s/f inpatient rehabilitation facility with 34 beds. It is fully leased to a joint venture between Bayhealth Medical Center, Inc. and a subsidiary of Post-Acute Medical, LLC. It sold in April for $23.5 million, or $691,176/bed.

- 1945 Middle Neck Road – 135.05 acres of land purchased by Amazon in April for $87.5 million to build a five-story, 3,918,700 s/f high-tech warehouse. The sales price reflects $647,908/acre, or $22 of FAR.

- Holly Woods & East Village Townhouses – two student housing complexes in Newark with 25 units and 135 beds that sold in May for $13.45 million, or $99,630/bed.

- 300 N. Wakefield – a 121,600 s/f building in Newark purchased by the in-place tenant in June for $27.5 million, or $226/sf.

- 205 Stanton Christiana Road – 43.47 acres in Newark approved for a 442,350 s/f industrial big-box warehouse. It sold in June for $18.6 million, $427,881/acre or $42.05 FAR, to Logistics Property Company.

- Eden Square Shopping Center – a 98.2 percent leased, 236,956 s/f shopping center anchored by Giant Food, Gabe’s, Starbucks, and Fulton Bank pads in Bear that sold in June for $30 million, or $126.61/sf.

Pricing remains steady, debt has grown more expensive, liquidity remains tight, and tariff uncertainty looms, but the US economy seems somewhat resilient against this. The impact of these factors, along with immigration policies and geopolitical tensions, has slowed new construction while market fundamentals remain steady.

Although uncertainty and interest rate volatility have weighed on investment activity, the supply-demand imbalance, asset repricing, and sturdy fundamentals present a chance to pursue investment opportunities. Market performance is expected to improve through the remainder of 2025. This will be driven by income growth from scarcity, discipline, and rising replacement costs.

Jay L. White, MAI, CRE, is the founder of Apex Realty Advisory in Wilmington, DE.