If you own property in Roseville, one piece of paper should get your attention: the deed from a medical building on Lead Hill that just recorded at $18.5 million. Less than five years ago, it sold for $6 million. Over that same stretch, Roseville area home prices barely moved.
So what did this owner do that most owners don’t? I spent 20 years building commercial property before I ever sold it, so I pull the receipts.
The Deal: 1386 Lead Hill Boulevard
◆ Location: South Placer Business Park, Roseville
◆ Building: about 42,000 square feet, one story, built in 1998
◆ Seller: MCR Companies, a developer out of Phoenix
◆ Buyer: JLL Income Property Trust, a fund with about $6.9 billion in total asset value
◆ How it sold: off-market. No sign, no bidding war.
How to Read Any Deed’s Price Yourself
The headlines said about $19 million. The deed disagrees.
Most California deeds show a documentary transfer tax. Not all of them; some sellers file it separately to keep the price private. This one didn’t. In Placer County, the tax is $1.10 for every $1,000 of price, so the math is simple:
- Take the tax on the deed: $20,350
- Divide by $1.10
- Multiply by 1,000
That gives you $18.5 million. That is what got recorded, and that is the number I use. General information, not tax or legal advice.
The 2021 purchase price was $6.04 million, a jump of about $12.5 million. Before costs. We will subtract those.
Why This Deal Is Strange
I pulled the MLS for Roseville and Rocklin. Four years ago, the median home sold for $640,000. In September 2026 it was $665,000. That is under 4% in four years, and adjusted for inflation it is going backwards.
Same city, same stretch of time. Homes went sideways. This building tripled. The difference is one word: income.
Homes Are Priced by Your Neighbors
Your house is priced by comps: three sales down the street, average them, done.
Commercial Buildings Are Priced by Income
A commercial building doesn’t care what sold next door. It is valued by the leases it holds. Take net operating income, which is rent minus expenses, and divide it by the cap rate, the return the buyer wants. Every dollar of rent gets multiplied.
How long the leases run matters as much as the rent. A buyer pays more for 12 years of signed leases than two years and a prayer. That’s the whole game.
The Two Levers
Most owners only pull one.
Lever 1: Capital
In December 2021, the same day the 2021 buyer closed, it recorded a loan of up to $16 million on a $6 million purchase. No lender lines up that kind of money for paint and carpet. From June 2023 to June 2024 the building went through a full renovation: surgical suites, procedure rooms and imaging.
Lever 2: Lease Up
A year ago the building was about 11% vacant. Today it is about 5% vacant. Sutter Lead Hill Surgery Center occupies 19,000 feet and Envision Eye Care occupies 12,000. The weighted average lease term (WALT) is about 12 years, and asking rent runs about $35 a foot per year against a Roseville office average of $28.
Capital made the space leasable. Leases made it income. And income is what JLL paid for.
Is $12.5 million profit? No. Take out the renovation, the leasing costs and the interest before anybody calls it a windfall. It’s not luck. It’s a playbook.
What I Look at When I Walk a Medical Building
- The roof. Count the air units. Medical needs more air changes and tighter filtration.
- The electrical service. Imaging and surgical equipment pulls serious power.
- The plumbing. Every exam room wants a sink, and on a slab that often means cutting concrete.
- The walls you can’t see. Imaging rooms often need lead shielding.
That is why medical tenants don’t leave. They have buried their money inside the building, and sticky tenants are exactly what a fund like JLL pays for.
Next door, flex space asks about $21 a foot, against about $35 here. CoStar estimates Roseville office trades around $217 a foot; this building traded around $440.
Why This Spot
In medical real estate, being near a hospital is like owning beachfront property. Kaiser Roseville is about eight-tenths of a mile away and is in the middle of a roughly $1 billion expansion, including a six-story tower with 138 more beds expected in 2027 (as announced, March 2023). Douglas Boulevard carries nearly 50,000 cars a day, and almost 20,000 people work within a mile.
Is office dead? Sacramento direct vacancy is about 11.1% (Kidder Mathews, Q2 2026). But you can’t get a root canal over Zoom, and medical tenants who sink real money into their space renew.
What This Means for You
◆ If you own a building in Roseville, Rocklin, Granite Bay or Folsom: this sale is now a comp on appraisers’ desks in Placer County. Your building may be worth more than you think, or less. Your leases decide the value.
◆ If you are a doctor who owns your building: your practice and your real estate are two separate assets. The lease you sign with yourself sets what a buyer would pay when you retire.
◆ If you own rentals in Roseville: your house is priced by comps. This building was priced by income. Know which game you’re playing.
Matt’s Quick Medical Office Checklist
- Hospital close
- Tenant credit
- WALT over eight years
- Power and parking
- Tenants invested in their space
- Know your exit buyer before you ever buy
1386 Lead Hill didn’t get lucky. They bought right, built with intent, leased long and knew the buyer.
Frequently Asked Questions
What did 1386 Lead Hill Blvd sell for?
The deed records a price of $18.5 million, based on its $20,350 documentary transfer tax. Some headlines reported about $19 million. It sold for $6.04 million in 2021.
How do I find a sale price from a California deed?
Find the documentary transfer tax on the deed, divide by the county rate per $1,000 (in Placer County, $1.10) and multiply by 1,000. Some sellers file the tax separately, so not every deed shows it. General information, not tax or legal advice.
What is WALT in commercial real estate?
The weighted average lease term: how long the building’s leases run, weighted by size. At eight years or more, institutional buyers start paying up.
Own a building, a practice or rentals in Roseville, Rocklin, Granite Bay or Folsom? Text LEADHILL to (916) 513-0217 for the checklist, or book 15 minutes with Matt.
Matt Bingaman | Commercial Advisor | eXp Commercial | CA DRE #02139034 | matt@cll-cre.com
Figures as of October 2026, from the recorded deed, Colliers, REBusiness, the MLS, CoStar, Kidder Mathews and Kaiser Permanente announcements. General information, not tax, legal or investment advice.