The greater Indianapolis market absorbed more than 1.9 million square feet of industrial space in the second quarter of this year. If that sounds like a strong number, it is: Cushman & Wakefield, in its second-quarter industrial report, said that the Indianapolis industrial market saw its greatest level of occupancy gains in this quarter since the third quarter of 2014.
For the year-to-date, the Indianapolis market has now absorbed more than 2.8 million square feet of industrial space. That’s up about 600,000 square feet from the same period last year, said Trevor Kirsh, research analyst in Cushman & Wakefield’s Indianapolis office.
The overall vacancy rate in the Indianapolis industrial market fell to 4.9 percent in the second quarter. This is the first time this rate has fallen under 5 percent in more than two years.
Not surprisingly, asking rents increased, too. Cushman & Wakefield reported that average asking rents in the industrial sector stood at $4.33 in the second quarter, up from $4.36 in the second quarter of 2015.
The busiest submarket in the Indianapolis area was the Southwest market, with more than 1.6 million square feet of industrial absorption. The Northwest submarket saw industrial absorption of 288,392 square feet.
Developers have responded to this strong market, with Cushman & Wakefield reporting that three new speculative warehouses are scheduled to come online here in the next year.
