Rental rates surge in 2021 as vacancy hits all-time low
The Northern New Jersey industrial market recorded 15.8 million square feet (msf) of net absorption during 2021, which is more than double the amount seen in 2020. Over the past 12 months, robust demand has pushed the vacancy rate down by 140 basis points (bps) to 2.3%, while asking rents have increased by 22.7% to an average rate of $10.85 per square foot (psf). Pricing is even higher in certain prime submarkets, including the centrally located Meadowlands, where asking rents now average $14.78 psf. More than 11.7 msf of industrial product is currently under construction, but this will likely not be enough to alleviate the space shortage, which will keep vacancy low and rents growing for the foreseeable future.