Thailand-based SVI Electronics is increasing its international footprint with its first manufacturing facility in america on the Vancouver Innovation Middle. It’s one of many many new firms shifting into Clark County’s industrial areas.
Clark County’s whole industrial emptiness price within the final quarter of 2024 sat round 6.7 %, in accordance with knowledge from business actual property firm Kidder Mathews.
That’s a rise of about 5 % from the start of 2024, barely increased than the Portland area’s price, mentioned Mark Childs, senior vp at Portland-based actual property firm Capability Business.
The soar, Childs added, is generally pushed by the big variety of industrial developments with out predetermined tenants that got here on-line final 12 months. (A number of of the mega warehouses introduced previously few years have been accomplished or are nearing completion.)
Nonetheless, the distinction isn’t very noticeable for these searching for to lease industrial house, mentioned Scott Murphy, government vp at Kidder Mathews in Portland.
Industrial tenants within the area have few choices, so the emptiness price continues to be tight, particularly for these searching for lower than 50,000 sq. toes.
“So rents have gone up,” Murphy mentioned.
Their tempo slowed within the fourth quarter, however they’re nonetheless swelling. And landlords are getting the rents they’re asking for, Murphy mentioned.
Clark County’s whole rental price is 96 cents per sq. foot, in accordance with Kidder Mathews’ knowledge. That’s increased than almost each different Portland market, besides Yamhill County in Oregon.
“Portland’s worse off than Vancouver,” Murphy mentioned. “No question.”
Murphy mentioned Clark County is outperforming Portland’s largest industrial submarkets — North and Northeast Portland — in emptiness charges, rental charges and destructive absorption (the metric used to trace tenants leaving the market).
Clark County’s industrial areas differ from Portland’s, that are giant, sprawling industrial zones.
Clark County’s industrial market consists of micro pockets of warehouse house, Murphy mentioned. And so they’re rising.
“There’s more new construction in Clark County in the last five years than probably the previous 20 years combined,” he mentioned.
Clark County was house to the most important lease deal within the Portland metro space final 12 months, a 681,780-square-foot lease for a Grocery Outlet regional distribution heart in east Vancouver.
Murphy known as the transaction “the highlight of the entire 2024 industrial leasing world.”
The corporate, which is predicted to maneuver in later this 12 months, is vacating its Portland facility.
Industrial leasing — regionally and nationally — was down final 12 months, Murphy mentioned.
A number of new buildings within the county stay empty, he mentioned. The election and common uncertainty contributed to that, as did excessive rates of interest.
“That puts a lot of pressure on growth,” Murphy mentioned.
The following 12 months can be about getting the brand new buildings leased, he mentioned. He doesn’t anticipate issues to vary considerably within the months to come back.
Childs expects the county’s industrial emptiness price to ultimately drop again beneath the marketwide common.
“As long as there’s just enough demand, it’ll just be a slow, sluggish crawl to lease space,” Murphy mentioned.