INDUSTRIAL ACTIVITY REMAINS BRISK, LONG-TERM OUTLOOK IMPROVING
Asking Rents on the Rise in Baltimore’s Flex Market
Anirban Basu, Sage Policy Group
Nearly 133,000 square feet of space was net absorbed in the Baltimore Metropolitan warehouse market during the third quarter. Baltimore’s total available warehouse space has declined by 3.5 million square feet over the past year, with vacancy almost a full percentage point lower. This has occurred despite a significant amount of new construction coming online. The e-commerce economy can take much of the credit for strong spatial demand. On a quarterly basis, Carroll County and Baltimore County East experienced the most net warehouse space absorption (213,292 and 132,461 sq. ft., respectively). A year ago, the amount of available warehouse space in Carroll County approached 1.2 million square feet. By the third quarter of 2016, this figure had been nearly halved to about 640,000 square feet. Similarly, in the Baltimore County East market, approximately 4.3 million square feet were identified as available a year ago. The latest figure suggests an availability figure of approximately 3.5 million square feet. Despite the significant decline in vacancy, average asking rent actually declined in Carroll County from $5.59/sq. ft. to $5.29/ sq. ft., with the implication being that much of the space that has been leased recently is of higher quality and therefore more expensive.
MacKenzie Ventures, LLC (MacKenzie) possesses the multi-disciplined team necessary to excel in Maryland’s corporate real estate community.Comprising seven firms, MacKenzie provides clients a competitive, full service platform of offerings in leasing, sales, investment sales, tenant and landlord advisory services, corporate and business consulting, commercial and residential development, general construction, property and asset management, debt and equity capital placement, and market research. With more than 150 employees and offices in Annapolis, Baltimore, Bel Air, Columbia, and Lutherville, Maryland, MacKenzie is one of the largest full service commercial real estate firms in the Mid-Atlantic. Please visit www.mackenziecommercial.com for more information.
