West Palm Beach industrial real estate market reports

Economic conditions

South Florida’s economy continued to rebound during the third quarter with the unemployment rate declining to 5.6% as of August 2021, an 810-basis point drop from the high of 13.7% in May 2020.

Recovery rate

According to recently released 2Q21 data from the Bureau of Economic Analysis, Florida’s GDP grew by 6.7 percent over the quarter, which is on par with the average for the U.S.

Industrial demand

Net absorption is at an all-time high of 1.8 million sf at the end of the third quarter. While demand has been steady, the gain in absorption was almost entirely due to Amazon taking occupancy of 1 million sf at its newly completed distribution facility in the Palm Beach Park of Commerce in North Palm Beach.

Industrial supply

The overall vacancy rate for the West Palm Beach industrial market resumed a downward trend during the third quarter and declined to 4.3%, a 180-basis point decrease from its peak of 6.1% at year-end 2020.

Pricing trends

Asking rents have increased by 14.8% since year-end 2019 to $10.75 per sf. Tightening leasing fundamentals as well as new speculative deliveries and rising construction costs have all contributed to a steady rise in asking rates.

Capital markets

Industrial asset pricing has begun to recover after softening mid-way through 2020. As of September 2021, pricing is up by 2.9% from pre-COVID levels.