Tenant demand waned during the first quarter as smaller industrial transactions made up the majority of the demand totals and quality space options remained limited in New York’s outer boroughs, according to Cushman & Wakefield.
As a result, industrial vacancy ticked higher by 20 basis points (bps) to 4.9 percent as some mid-sized industrial spaces came online in Brooklyn and Queens. While absorption was negative, occupancy remained tight across the board as the long-term vacancy trend has been positive.
First quarter leasing was driven by the Long Island City/Astoria submarket which boasted three of the top five deals transacted this quarter. Despite the pause in leasing volume, healthy tenant interest in the most densely populated region on the East Coast continued as there are some notable deals projected to close in the second quarter.
Meanwhile, quarter-over-quarter, asking rents edged marginally lower as some higher-priced spaces l
