Colliers International has recently released its Northeastern Pennsylvania Industrial Big Box Market Report, highlighting a strong Q2 that is putting the regional market back on track for 2019. Colliers’ market brokers and research teams provide valuable intelligence covering market inventory, asking rents, vacancy rates, new and notable transactions, and more across the Northeastern Pennsylvania logistics market.

Key Market Highlights Notable Transactions, Market Statistics and Comparisons in the full report.

• New Occupier Transactions Accelerate in Q2 Occupiers leased 4.8 MSF of space in Q2, more than double the 2.3 MSF transacted in Q1. Central PA’s I-81 corridor captured 65% of leasing volume in the second quarter while Northeast PA has been quiet so far.
• Annual Deliveries to Reach New High in 2019 After 19.6 MSF of construction starts in 2018, this year’s delivery pipeline volume is on track to set a record. Over a third of that square footage is already committed due to the abnormally high number of build-to-suit deals inked last year.
• Vacancy Rate Diverges Significantly Across Market The market’s vacancy rate ticked upwards to 7.8% in Q2, impacted by the recent spate of large-format deliveries in pioneering locations. In contrast, vacancy in Central PA & the eastern half of the Lehigh Valley, where market inventory has been historically concentrated, decreased in the first half of 2019. Despite more vacant space market-wide, average asking rents continue to rise as supply-demand is balanced in core locations and the new product in pioneering locations is of higher quality than what previously existed there.
• Speculative Construction Footprints Shrink in the Lehigh Valley, Grow in Northeast PA Large development sites are increasingly hard to come by in the eastern half of Lehigh Valley. Speculative activity is still strong, but most projects are smaller than 500,000 SF. The average footprint of speculative starts has declined steadily over the past five years from 705,000 SF in 2015 to 319,000 SF year-to-date. Northeast PA’s large-format speculative development grew substantially in the same time-frame, from an average footprint of 467,000 SF in 2016 to 784,000 SF year-to-date.

About Colliers International

Colliers International (NASDAQ, TSX: CIGI) is a leading global real estate services and investment management company. With operations in 68 countries, our 14,000 enterprising people work collaboratively to provide expert advice and services to maximize the value of property for real estate occupiers, owners and investors. For more than 20 years, our experienced leadership team, owning more than 40% of our equity, have delivered industry-leading investment returns for shareholders. In 2018, corporate revenues were $2.8 billion ($3.3 billion including affiliates), with more than $26 billion of assets under management.