Cardinal Realty Group services all kinds of industrial properties in all 16 counties that make up the St. Louis commercial real estate market, as well as throughout the United States.
The firm assists clients who want to secure industrial space via purchase, lease, or third-party logistics (3PL).
Choosing Industrial Property for Lease
Some of the major considerations for choosing industrial space include:
- Location
- Accessibility
- Layout
- Price
- Future expansion
- Job market
You must also know what kind of industrial property will best serve your purpose. These include:
- Warehouse /distribution buildings
- Manufacturing buildings
- Cold storage/refrigeration buildings
- Data hosting/telecom centers
- Flex buildings
- Light manufacturing buildings
- Showroom buildings
- R&D buildings
- Wet lab/biotech buildings
The type of industrial space you choose ultimately depends on which one best serves your purpose. Two of the most common industrial property types you’ll find in St. Louis metro are warehouse and flex buildings.
Warehouse buildings essentially offer large amounts of storage space, whereas flex buildings are easier to convert and typically feature office space.
Market Updates
The industrial market had a 5.3% vacancy rate in Q4 2017, with a total net absorption of positive 85,393 square feet. Vacant sublease space went up in the same quarter, at 248,167 square feet. Rental rates were at $4.57, which increased from a previous quarter.
Warehouse projects had a 5.2% vacancy rate, up from 4.7% from the previous quarter. Flex projects had a 7.7% vacancy rate, up from 7.5% in Q3.
Six industrial buildings totaling 1,380,883 square feet were delivered to the market, while 1,673,340 square feet of industrial space remained under construction towards the end of Q4.
Overall net absorption in the industrial market was positive 85,393 square feet, down from positive 2,509,716 square feet the previous quarter.
High-profile tenants who moved into large blocks of industrial space include Reckitt Benckise, GMC, and GEODIS.
GEODIS had one of the biggest lease signings of the year, along with Amazon and Fairfield Manufacturing.
Vacant sublease space increased from 164,734 square feet in Q3 to 248,167 square feet in Q4.
Flex projects had a sublease space vacancy of 8,600 square feet, an increase from 3,600 square feet in Q3.
Warehouse projects had a sublease vacancy of 239,567 square feet, up from 161,134 square feet in Q3.
The average asking rental rate for industrial space in the St. Louis market area was $4.57 per square foot per year, representing a 1.3% increase in quoted rental rates Q3, when the average asking rental rate was $4.51 per square foot.
Total inventory for industrial properties in St. Louis’ market area amounted to 6,248 buildings with a total of 272,219,892 square feet as of Q4.
The flex sector was comprised of 581 projects with a total of 16,399,924 square feet, while the warehouse sector consisted of 5,667 buildings that amounted to 255,819,968 square feet.
Whether you’re buying or leasing industrial space, Cardinal Realty Group can provide professional guidance. Get in touch with them at 636-225-0385, send an email to Info(at)CardinalRealtyGroup(dotted)com, or visit their page on industrial properties in St. Louis metro.