More heartening to property owners was another indicator showing rental rates are inching upward after six straight quarters of decline, Kral says. The quoted gross rental rate average is $5.08 per sf, up 45 cents from $4.63 in the first quarter.

By submarket, the 42-million-sf Eastside and the 39-million-sf South Pinellas hub remain the dominant industrial areas of the Tampa Bay market. Eastside, however, "has been hit hard by the stumbling economy" and shows a total vacancy level of 11.7%, the Colliers Arnold report states.

Still, Eastside leasing activity "remains very strong" and "very active" with 48 deals totaling 370,000 sf completed in the second quarter, Kral says. Eastside alone accounted for 40% of all the industrial deals completed in the Tampa Bay market. Currently 4.6 million sf. Is available.

South Pinellas posted a low 6.1% vacancy rate among 1,156 buildings that are over 10,000 sf in size. This submarket "has remained healthy throughout the economic downturn and the vacancy rate has never gone above 6.2% in the last 3 ½ years," Kral says. The average quoted rent is $6.54 per sf, up from $5.75 per sf in the first quarter.

Leasing activity, however, slowed in the second quarter, going to 27 deals totaling 260,000 sf from 36 transactions in the first quarter. South Pinellas accounted for about 25% of the total 117 leasing deals closed in the Tampa Bay market in the second quarter. This submarket has 2.3 million sf available.