5 Steps Tenants Can Do to Navigate a Low-Vacancy Industrial Real Estate Market

With the current situation, with industrial real estate markets being as tight as ever from a vacancy standpoint – and heavily favored toward landlords – tenants can still have some leverage when negotiating a deal. In this episode, hosts Bill Condon and Matt McGregor go over 5 steps tenants should consider in the current low-vacancy industrial real estate market. Several markets like Seattle, New Jersey, SoCal, and some in Florida are as tight as they've ever been from a vacancy standpoint. The points discussed in this episode are going to provide tenants with some leverage when negotiating a deal – especially now that markets are heavily favored toward landlords. Matt points out that the current situation in markets like L.A., San Francisco, and Vegas, as well as Seattle, are going to put tenants in a tight spot for the next 4-5 years. The first thing tenants should consider in a low-vacancy industrial real estate market is looking for subleasing options. The second is unconventional spaces, like shopping centers turning into some sort of storage, distribution, and fulfillment centers, for instance. When it comes to being in a low-vacancy industrial market, Matt suggests being flexible on location. One of the good aspects of this is the fact that in secondary locations you're fighting over less labor competition. The fourth thing tenants within a low-vacancy industrial market should consider is looking for build-to-suit options. Matt and Bill discuss a story where real estate helped a company survive a downturn and put that money back into their business. The fifth aspect tenants should keep in consideration is to use technology and online platforms.     Mentioned in this episode: IndustrialAdvisors.com