How long has it been since the Louisville industrial market hasn’t enjoyed positive absorption? According to the latest research from CBRE, it’s been more than four years.
CBRE reported that the Louisville industrial market recorded 296,644 square feet of positive net absorption in the second quarter. That’s the 17th consecutive quarter that this has happened.
The vacancy rate in the market did jump slightly during the quarter, though, rising 50 basis points to a still-low 4.9 percent. CBRE said that several large industrial deliveries during the quarter accounted for the vacancy increase. The largest lease of the quarter was 527,250 square feet by Dow Corporation in the Bullitt County submarket.
Investment activity remained strong in the market, though. Major industrial sales during the second quarter in the Louisville area included a 426,450-square-foot distribution warehouse at 301 Logistics Ave. in the Southern Indiana submarket that sold for $25.6 million to Tratt Properties.
A 325,000-square-foot distribution warehouse at 9101 Minor Lane was bought by IAC, while a 210,000-square-foot distribution warehouse at 5101 Jeff Commerce Drive was bought by Stoltz Real Estate Partners.
In total, investment sales were up 26 percent by total dollar volume in the Louisville market during the first half of 2019 when compared to the same period a year earlier. So far, 2019’s total investment sales dollar volume of $139 million is only 13 percent behind the total for all of 2018.
“Tenants are still very active and we expect the trend of positive absorption to continue,” said Kevin Grove, senior vice president with CBRE, in a written statement. “As we saw this quarter, investors see Louisville as a very strong market, and with new product delivering, there will be more investment grade opportunities in the near future.”
