Seattle Industrial Capital Markets Are Turning | Puget Sound 2026 Update

Seattle Industrial Capital Markets Are Turning | Puget Sound 2026 Update Puget Sound Industrial Capital Markets Update: Investors Return, Cap Rates Improve, and Seattle Shows Signs of Recovery On the Industrial Advisors Podcast's 10th-anniversary season launch, Matt McGregor and Kyle Back discuss year-to-date Puget Sound industrial capital markets into Q3 (recorded Sept. 8), noting improving investor sentiment toward Seattle as the market "bounces along the bottom" and expectations of positive absorption after years of negative absorption amid limited new construction. They report 77 transactions totaling $1.9B (with 51% of volume in five deals) and cap rates generally ranging from 5.25%–6.0% (higher for challenged assets), including a recent 5.25% trade. Buyers are prioritizing Class A, strong-credit, well-located assets, while South Seattle remains difficult due to weak leasing economics and safety concerns. Major deals include Amazon-leased Kelso (~1.2M SF) at a 5.8% cap and Bridge Logistics' 782K SF Frederickson deal at a 5.35% cap, with investors outpacing owner-users 46–13. They anticipate a strong finish to the year, more institutional activity, and further cap-rate compression. 00:00 Seattle Bottoming Out 00:49 Season 10 Kickoff 01:43 New Format and Markets 02:41 Year to Date Deal Volume 03:37 Cap Rates and Buyer Focus 05:20 South Seattle Challenges 06:52 Investor Sentiment Shifts 09:41 Top Five Mega Deals 11:39 Investors vs Owner Users 13:42 Portfolio Buyers Return 15:15 Best Basis Deals 16:22 Year End Outlook 17:44 Wrap Up and Thanks