The metro Milwaukee area’s industrial real estate market had another strong performance in the first quarter of 2012, according to preliminary numbers from Xceligent and the Commercial Association of Realtors Wisconsin (CARW).
The region’s industrial real estate market had positive absorption of about 884,000 square feet of space, said CARW president Jim Villa.
The region’s industrial space vacancy rate is expected to be at about 7.0 to 7.1 percent for the quarter, Villa said.
Xceligent and CARW will release its complete first quarter report soon.
The strong performance in the first quarter comes after a very good year for the region’s industrial real estate market. In 2011, the region’s industrial real estate vacancy rate fell from 8.5 percent at the end of 2010 to 7.6 percent, and the market absorbed 3 million square feet of space.
Adam Matson, an industrial broker for Brookfield-based NAI MLG Commercial, said he has noticed significant improvement in the market since the fourth quarter of 2011.
“Every month and week has gotten better,” he said. “I think there’s a lot of pent up demand. We’re encouraged. There’s a lot of activity out there.”
Industrial space development, especially spec development, has been limited in the region since the Great Recession. But industrial development in the region could pick up as absorption continues to be strong and vacancy rates continue to dwindle.
