By Commercial Property Executive | AZ Big Media
Through a challenging year for nearly every property sector, industrial real estate has consistently stood apart from the crowd. Having already had solid footing, the surge in e-commerce demand strengthened the sector even further, with falling vacancies nationwide pushing rents up an average of 4.8 percent during the 12 months ending in December.
Regardless of these indicators, industrial transaction volume still fell to some $29 billion, or three-quarters of the 2019 total, according to CommercialEdge data. However, this doesn’t necessarily bring bad tidings, given the context and the much more significant slowdown in office and multifamily deal volumes.
CommercialEdge data shows that the top 10 markets for industrial transactions in 2020 include historical industrial powerhouses as well as notable emerging markets. Combined, their investment volumes account for close to 60 percent of nationwide sales in the sector. Five of these metros had a higher volume this year than last, with one key market seeing an increase of nearly 40 percent.
