Industrial Market Slowly Turning Around

TAMPA, FL-Tampa Bay’s 59.8-million-sf, 13-submarket industrial real estate area is still setting no records but more tenants are beginning to lease space as property owners drop rents and cut deals daily, according to a new market analysis by Colliers Arnold Real Estate Services Inc.

Q3 vacancies are at 15.04%, down 0.45% from second quarter but still above the 8.98% national average. However, net absorption has improved to a positive 364,743 sf from a negative 532,613 sf in the previous period. But counting sublease space, the vacancy mark shoots up to 16.17%, fractionally lower than 16.74% in the second quarter.

“The industrial market has hopefully hit the bottom of this cycle,” at says Colliers Arnold senior research analyst Jeremy Kral. In the report, he projects the market will pick up strongly by the second or third quarter of 2003.