MARKET TREND REPORTS
Columbus | Industrial
Q4 2020
The Columbus industrial market finished 2020 with a strong fourth quarter, posting 2,184,850 square feet of net absorption.* This brings year-to-date net absorption to over 10.6 million square feet - the highest annual absorption the Columbus market has ever recorded. The already thriving industrial sector has skyrocketed this year, as the e-commerce industry has grown exponentially due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Sustained demand in prime warehouse space has yielded absorption greater than 1 million square feet in 13 of the past 14 quarters in Central Ohio. This activity drove vacancy down in the fourth quarter, from 4.9 percent to 4.74 percent. Overall asking rates held steady at $3.89 per square foot, but new speculative
availability increased rates for warehouse/distribution properties to $3.74 per square foot. In the past quarter, nearly 2 million square feet of product broke ground and the number of users looking for industrial space increased to 130 tenants, demonstrating the resiliency of the industrial market. Central Ohio can expect continued activity in the new year as COVID-19 fuels demand in the industrial sector.
*net absorption is calculated based on commencement date