Industrial leasing in Northern and Central New Jersey is returning to typical levels following a record-breaking year in 2021, according to Cushman & Wakefield’s third-quarter 2023 industrial and office statistics. In Q3 of that year, leasing activity reached 4.8 million square feet, nearly matching the quarterly average of the past two years at 4.9 million square feet.
Central New Jersey was responsible for almost 60% of this activity. However, the market experienced negative net absorption of 2.6 million square feet due to newly vacant non-Class A space; on the other hand, Class A properties saw positive net absorption for their thirty-third consecutive quarter at over half a million square feet.
In terms of office spaces, Q3 saw leasing activity reach only about one-third as much as it had during Q2 last year: just under one-and-a-half-million-square-feet-worth (the lowest volume since then). The vacancy rate increased by more than ten percentage points from its level twelve months prior – now standing at twenty-one-point-two percent.
