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Big-box warehouse vacancies fall as megadeals return to industrial leasing
Warehouse vacancies for buildings 750,000 SF and larger dipped to 7.3% in the first quarter, and total industrial leasing in the first half hit 490 million SF, up 27% from a year earlier.
Industrial landlords are seeing a renewed pickup in leasing as large operators sign deals that absorb pandemic-era big-box warehouse supply, a shift that has begun to restore pricing power, according to Bisnow.
The article says deals larger than 500,000 SF are driving activity and squeezing demand for top-tier space, with large users facing rent pressures that are increasing faster than for smaller warehouse peers.
Vacancy trends reflect the change, with Savills data cited showing warehouse vacancy for 750,000 SF and larger fell year over year to 7.3% in the first quarter from 8.3%, while vacancies for 200,000 SF to 500,000 SF were 10.9%, slightly higher than the prior year.
Bisnow also points to momentum in leasing totals, saying industrial leasing reached 490 million SF in the first half, up 27% from 2025, while the overall U.S. vacancy rate was essentially flat year over year at 8.2% in June. It attributes the improvement to strong demand backfilling the existing supply, amid macro uncertainty tied to tariffs and the U.S.-Iran situation affecting logistics and energy prices.