Albuquerque real estate firm NAI Sunvista published a report that shows the city’s vacant industrial space to be at an all-time low.
NAI SunVista Commercial Real Estate advisor Alex Pulliam told KRQE that the lack of vacancy dates back to even before the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We’ve been unbuilt for some time so even pre COVID we really haven’t experienced significant industrial growth since probably before the last recession,” he told the station.
The report noted that lease rates have been on the rise after remaining flat for a half a decade.
“Vacancy rates have largely remained flat, though the current rate (2.29%) is roughly 0.4% less than it was 12 months ago (2.70%),” it says. “Lease rates—after a lengthy wait—seem finally to be trending upward with the median modified gross rate seeing 2.30% growth over the last 12 months and the median triple net (NNN) rate increasing 2.36% over the same period. While modest, this positive trajectory will hopefully promote new construction of industrial space that will restore vacancy rates to healthier, more sustainable levels.”
By causing many people to stay home and resort to online shopping, the pandemic has led to a need for warehouse space for e-commerce.
KRQE reported that there’s currently about 775,000 square feet of available industrial space on the market in Albuquerque.
NAI SunVista Senior Advisor Riley McKee said the shift from the traditional brick-and-mortar business prompted a need some developers and investors to take a leap at building and leasing it to fill that void, the station additionally reported.
SunVista’s report said developers are planning on adding approximately 171,000 square feet of projects in Albuquerque.
Albuquerque’s Far West Side will soon be home to an Amazon fulfillment center, which is likely to create hundreds of jobs.
