There is over 3 million sq. ft. of new construction of warehouses in Miami in the works, and about 4.5 million sq. ft. was delivered over the past year. This is including the one million SF Home Depot distribution center in Hialeah, which completed construction in early 2021. Most of what is being built is speculative. The largest speculative projects are in the 200,000 SF – 300,000 SF range.

Vacancy rates for Miami warehouses are around 4.6% and are back below the National Index rate. Though international trade has been impacted by the pandemic, the e-commerce sector, including Amazon, has been responsible for many of South Florida’s largest lease deals in the past seven months. Amazon signed two large deals in 2020. In April, the company leased about 220,000 SF at the newly built Prologis Beacon Lakes Industrial Distribution Center in the Miami Airport West Submarket. The company also leased a 210,000 SF property in the Hialeah Submarket, which it will occupy following extensive renovations. Vacancies could stabilize once the three million SF under construction delivers and leases.

Annual rent has been rebounding after two years of slowing. Still, at nearly $13/SF, the average rent in Miami is one of the highest in the country and is more than 40% higher than the national average. Within the market, average rents reach as high as nearly $20/SF in the South Central and East Miami Submarkets which are nearest to downtown. These submarkets have had the most trouble maintaining growth and have had some of the lowest rent growth in the market in the past year. Still, at 4.5% or higher, annual growth in these submarkets has been considerable.

Industrial investment volume is down in Miami year-over-year but remains at more than $1 billion in the past year. Volume is slightly higher than the market’s 10-year annual average, but turnover has dropped below 5% for the first time in nine years. Deals over $20 million have become less frequent during the past year, with only nine deals in that range versus 17 deals in 2019.

Though the region has regained some of its jobs toward the end of the year, as of the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ (BLS) release of January jobs figures, the metro was still down about 115,000 jobs since February 2020. Tourism has been greatly interrupted and the cruise industry with which Miami is intertwined will likely feel the lingering effects for some time. While the shape of the economic recovery from the past year is yet to be seen, in Miami it is likely to be prolonged. Still, the market should benefit from its diversity. No one industry accounts for more than 15% of Miami’s jobs, helping to insulate the city from higher losses as a proportion of the workforce during downturns.

Featured Listing! Miami Warehouse at 16215 NW 15th Avenue in Miami

Miami Warehouse at 16215 NW 15th Avenue in Miami

South Miami-Dade Focus

Many industrial investors and developers are turning their focus to southern Miami-Dade County for the first time. This is largely driven by the lack of available industrial land in the northern parts of the County. Two large developers filed an application in March for the South Dade Logistics and Technology District, which is an 800-acre parcel of land located on the south side of Florida’s Turnpike and north of Southwest 268th Street, between Southwest 122nd Avenue and Southwest 107th Avenue. It would be just north of Homestead Air Reserve Base. The project would feature 5.9 million square feet of warehouses, 100,000 square feet of commercial space and a 150-room hotel.

In 2021, Amazon plans to open four new delivery stations in South Florida. Two of the facilities are in the South Dade market – one will be located at the corner of Southwest 136th Street and Southwest 132nd Avenue in Kendall (65,536 SF) and the other will be located at 3750 Palm Drive, in Homestead (145,125 SF). This is in addition to the 1,000,000+ SF distribution center Amazon got approved in 2020 just north of the Homestead Air Reserve Base.

ComReal recently sold 117 acres to Copart USA in the Homestead Park of Commerce for $35mm. With land prices at 30 – 50% of the value of industrial land in Northern Miami-Dade, investors and users should consider the growing South Dade market as an option for their investments and/or business operations.

ComReal Sponsors the 2021 Florida Cargo Brokers & Forwarders 2021 Golf Tournament!

For more info on Miami commercial real estate, please visit www.comreal.com. Thank you very much.

The question that some of us are now asking in the industry is, “Will 2018 be the year that we break the $10.00 per sq. ft. barrier for the average lease rate?” We are close enough that this may happen, although it will be grudgingly so. With so much new space being delivered on-the-market, landlords will likely not be able to drastically increase their lease rates due to fierce competition and knowledgeable tenant-rep brokers. A real problem that few professionals discuss is the lack of customer service delivered by landlords / owners. Unsatisfactory property maintenance and management, as well as very challenging lease terms imposed by landlords, are becoming the norm in today’s “owner’s market”. Welcome to Miami. Tenants are customers too and win-win lease transactions between both parties will be more respected when the market starts turning the other way, and it will one day.

At the U.S. national level, the average vacancy rate has also decreased slightly to 4.9% and the average lease rate increased to $6.46 per sq. ft. Our colleagues from around the country report that each of their respective markets were very dynamic in 2017. We look forward to entering the second year, of a new era, of lower taxation and less federal regulations. Now we just need to make Miami-Dade County great again.

The ComReal Industrial Team commences this year with the largest, available warehouse measuring 234,739 sq. ft. now listed for sale on-the-market (see below). In addition, we have a total of seven (7) buildings listed for sale in Miami over 25,000 sq. ft., which is more than any other brokerage firm in Miami. Please feel free to contact us anytime to discuss your commercial real estate needs in 2018 and beyond.

Missed Our Last Industrial Market Report? If you would like to read last quarter’s report, please view online at: ComReal’s Miami Industrial Real Estate Report for the 3rd Quarter of 2017. >>>

Featured Property: The 234,739 sq. ft. Miami Freezer/Cooler Building for Sale!

At an impressive size of 234,739 sq. ft., this is the largest warehouse in Miami currently listed on-the-market for sale. The building’s freezers and coolers make it ideal for an owner-user in the perishables industry, however it could also be great for dry distribution, manufacturing, etc. Investors may also be attracted to this multi-bay warehouse and the seller may consider leasing-back a portion. The property is halfway between both PortMiami and Port Everglades just off I-95. For details on this ComReal exclusive listing, please visit The Miami Freezer Warehouse Building for Sale. >>>

Our customers are “cool!” TransInternational Cargo expands it’s flower distribution operation to 26k SF cooler warehouse space closer to Miami Int’l. Airport.

Miami Warehouses Sold in 4th Quarter 2017 (partial list):

Miami Warehouses Leased in 4th Quarter 2017 (partial list):

* Deals closed by the ComReal Miami Industrial Team

Two more happy customers! Pan Ocean Freight swiftly back-filled an 80k SF warehouse space at Miami International Logistics Center in Hialeah owned by Lincoln Property Group immediately after the prior tenant terminated it’s lease.

News Release: 87,531 sq. ft. Warehouse at Turnpike Logistics Center 100% Leased!

ComReal completely leased up the 87,531 sq. ft. warehouse building known as The Turnpike Logistics Center located in Doral to a single tenant in the international skin care production and distribution industry. The landlord is Seagis Property Group. The value of this lease transaction was about $3.5M. For more information on the story, please visit Florida Turnpike Logistics Center Warehouse in Doral. >>>

Congratulations to Patricia Quintana, CCIM who leased 12k SF of office space on Doral Boulevard to US Health Exchange

Office Space on Doral Boulevard Leased

Service Provider of the Quarter: Sirius Business Advisors

Sirius Business Advisors is the only business brokerage firm in Miami that we are comfortable in recommending to our clients. If you are looking to buy or sell a business opportunity then Sirius has the solution for mergers, acquisitions, add-on opportunities, etc. Please consider letting ComReal handle your commercial real estate needs along with Sirius for your business needs. Contact our friends Michael Weihl and Richard Leal with Sirius Business Brokers at 844-747-4875​ and/or via their website at www.siriusbusinessadvisors.com. >>>