If you were alive in the 1980s, you might remember seeing TV news reporters showing parents fighting in stores to get their kids Cabbage Patch dolls. And if you think back to the movies of the 1980s and 1990s, you’ll probably remember quite a few of them were set at a shopping mall, which was a very popular place to “hang out” back in the day.
96% of Industrial Warehouse Space Is In Use
Well, times have changed when it comes to retail shopping, that’s for sure– thanks to the Internet, more and more people bypass the idea of in-person shopping in favor of going online, filling their “cart,” using their credit card or Paypal, and buying things online. Those things have to be delivered to their house, and they usually come from a warehouse somewhere nearby.
Warehousing is taking the country over– nearly 96% of existing industrial space is in use, according to commercial real estate services company JLL. Vacancy rates? They’re at all-time lows. And to keep up with demand, our country could use an additional 1 billions square feet of new industrial space. Buildings are being adapted to become warehouses. They’re also being built brand new in sometimes unconventional places just because the need is there, and if there’s open land, it’s easy to build brand new.
So, if you are looking for a warehouse, expect high rent as well as high pre-leasing rates, too. Retailers are putting a big emphasis on their e-commerce operations, and they know that customers want faster delivery than ever before; Meanwhile, retailers are also doing their best to secure more storage space in the U.S. in order to mitigate any impact of future supply chain problems.
Expect more and more communities to dedicate more land to warehousing, which also brings with it the increased truck traffic. Some towns will be mad about this, while others will enjoy the economic boon.
