Palm Beach County, Florida Industrial Market Report
Market Overview
Palm Beach County is considered one of the wealthiest counties in the country, boasting the fourth-highest personal income in Florida, which is over 60% higher than the state average. The industrial market remains a crucial logistics hub due to its access to the large population pool in South Florida. The port of Palm Beach County plays a significant role in supporting businesses in the market. The rising buying power in Palm Beach and limited space availability in Fort Lauderdale and Miami are expected to continue driving businesses to the Palm Beach County market.
Highlights
- Palm Beach County, with current asking rents of $16.79, has the third-highest rent in Florida, following Fort Lauderdale and Miami.
- Palm Beach County has consistently achieved lower vacancies than the rest of the U.S. since 2010, primarily due to its limited inventory of industrial space.
- Annual industrial net absorption in the county reached over 780,000 SF in Q2 2023 but dropped to -36,360 SF in Q4.
- Palm Beach County ranks as the third most populous county in Florida, following Miami-Dade and Broward County, with a population of over 1.5 million residents.
Rents | Vacancy | Construction
Over 80% of the rentable building area under construction is concentrated in larger assets with more than 100,000 square feet.
Current asking rents are approximately $16.80 per square foot, representing a 9.0% increase from 2022. Rents for logistics properties with more than 100,000 square feet stand at over $14 per square foot, and rents for 10,000 to 100,000-squarefoot assets are over $16 per square foot. Net absorption in Palm Beach County has totaled over 450,000 square feet in H1 2023. Vacancies have increased from lows of 2.3% in Q1 2022 to 4.0% in Q4 2023. Approximately 2.8 million square feet of industrial space is underway as of Q4 2023. Over 2 million square feet of industrial space is expected to be delivered in 2023, and an additional 2.1 million square feet will be delivered in 2024.
Sales
Palm Beach County, FL, By the Numbers in the Last 12 Months
Source: CoStar Group
- Vacancy Rate: 4.0%
- Deliveries SF: 1.3M
- Net Absorption SF: 446K
- Asking Rent Growth: 9.0%
- Sales Volume: $429M
Strong investor demand in recent years has driven pricing to new highs, with the average annual transaction price standing at $230 per square foot, up from $122 per square foot three years ago. The largest transaction in 2023 involved McCauley Property Company selling a 119,000-square-foot warehouse in Boca Raton to Ares Industrial Real Estate Income Trust Inc. for over $27 million, approximately $233 per square foot in February.
