Treasure Valley industrial vacancy dips in October

The percentage of vacant industrial space took its largest dive since August 2006 in October, falling from 12.4 percent to 11.9 percent.

According to a report from Boise-based Thornton Oliver Keller Commercial Real Estate, the decline comes at the end of a year that witnessed a rise from 8.6 percent to last month’s high of 12.4 percent. Two years ago industrial vacancy was 6.8 percent.

The dip in October was largely the result of the St. Luke’s purchase of two former Micron buildings on Denver Way in Boise.

The combined size of those buildings is over 124,000 square feet.

Other sizable transactions include 16,500 square feet leased to Great Basin Distributing in Boise and 10,000 square feet leased to three tenants at Franklin Business Center in Nampa.

TOK industrial specialist Devin Pierce said it’s too early to tell if this is a one-time uptick or the start of an upward trend.

“We are pulling into our typical slow months,” he said. “St. Luke’s purchased a couple of large buildings, and that definitely attributed to the decrease in vacancy. It might bounce up and down, but I wouldn’t say that we’re going to make a full recovery any time soon. But it is good news.”

He said the mood has changed a little bit among industrial tenants, with some cautious optimism surfacing.

And he said while the leasing side of the industrial real estate market will continue to churn as businesses renew leases or expand or consolidate, the purchasing side of the market will continue to be difficult for some time to come as financing remains a challenge.

The full market report, including office and retail data, is available from Marc Stimpson of Thornton Oliver Keller, 947-5505 or [email protected].