CHICAGO, June 23, 2022 – Industrial real estate has been the one of the most sought-after property types nationally, leading to record low vacancies and increased competition among investors and tenants. When it comes to selecting a market for industrial investment, port markets are emerging as the safe bet for investors to park capital due to the positive rental growth profile.  

With an average vacancy of 2.8%, port markets were well below the national average of 3.4% for industrial product at the end of the first quarter of 2022. Additionally, looking at new construction rates, 22.1% of total new inventory constructed in the industrial market during the first quarter was delivered in port markets.

“Both pent-up investor and occupier demand from the pandemic along with new buildings being delivered to the market have boosted asking rents,” said Senior Managing Director John Huguenard, JLL’s industrial co-leader in capital markets. “This ultra-competitive environment continues to drive average asking rents in port markets to new highs.”

When it comes to year-over-year rental growth, port markets saw a 23% increase in asking rent, while non-port markets rose 16% comparing the first quarter of 2021 to the first quarter of 2022. Leading the port markets is Miami, with a whopping 53.3% year-over-year increase in rental growth, followed by Los Angeles with 45% growth, Orange County with 27%, New York/New Jersey with 26% and Boston with 22.9 percent to round out the top five.