The Inland Empire industrial market struggled during the third quarter, recording negative absorption and a drop in construction.
Vacancy was 6.8 percent, unchanged from the second quarter, the first time in two years that number did not go up, according to CBRE.
Eleven point six million square feet of industrial space was being built in Riverside and San Bernardino during the third quarter, the lowest number recorded in that category since the second quarter of 2013, while net absorption was minus-234,000 square feet.
The negative net absorption was mostly the result of spaces 500,000 square feet and larger going vacant, as larger tenants either consolidated or dropped space.
On the positive side of the ledger, new leases were up 70 percent among buildings 250,000-499,999 square feet and loaded imports at San Pedro port complex increased 22.5 percent year during the first eight months of the year compared with the same period in 2023.
Average lease rates fell by 6.3 percent, to $1.19 per square foot.
“The Inland Empire industrial market rebalanced in the third quarter, as leasing and vacancy became more evenly distributed between the individual size tranches,” CBRE stated.