The Indianapolis industrial market set yet another record during the first quarter of this year when its vacancy rate hit an all-time low. It’s more evidence that the industrial sector continues to boom across the Midwest.
According to the latest industrial report from Colliers International, the Indianapolis industrial market vacancy rate fell to 4.1 percent as of the end of the fourth quarter. That’s an all-time low for this market.
Colliers reported that the market absorbed 1.6 million square feet of industrial space during the first quarter. At the same time, nearly 5 million square feet of new leases were signed in the first quarter, up 43.6 percent when compared to the same period one year earlier.
In the modern bulk sector, Colliers pointed to Indianapolis’ Northwest submarket as a hotspot for speculative buildings. Colliers said that this submarket accounted for 61 percent of all the spec industrial product under construction in the Indianapolis market.
The vacancy rate for traditional distribution buildings – buildings that Colliers points out are usually older with lower clear heights than modern bulk buildings – saw their vacancy levels fall from 7.3 percent to 5.7 percent. That is the largest year-over-year drop in vacancy among all industrial product types in the Indianapolis area, Colliers said.
Light industrial/flex space continues to be in great demand in the Indianapolis market. Colliers reported that rental rates for this product type jumped 12.1 percent in the Park 100 flex park and 9.8 percent in Park Fletcher. That’s significant because these two flex parks are the biggest in the Indianapolis market.
