Things are looking sunny for the most part in Southwest Florida's industrial sector after a mixed second quarter.
Right now, it's all about strong leasing momentum in the region, which includes areas like Fort Myers, Naples, Lehigh, Cape Coral, Charlotte County, among others, according to a market report from Colliers. More than a dozen tenants occupied space during the second quarter, setting the tone for the next three months ahead.
"Many Q2 lease signings—like Craft Time and SCP Distributors— are now in motion, paving the way for a more robust absorption in Q3," Colliers predicted.
The top two biggest leases in the second quarter involved tenants Safa Goods: Smoke & Vape Shop and 1-800-Pack-Rat, which signed to take 127,000 square feet and 48,000 square feet, respectively.
Speaking of absorption, the segment fell to 37,314 square feet, from 831,719 square feet in the second quarter of 2024. However, demand at least rebounded to positive territory after -460,195 square feet was posted in the first quarter.
But something to look out for is elevated supply, as deliveries more than quadrupled year-over-year in the second quarter of 2025 to about 1.55 million square feet. According to Colliers, the supply coupled with the absorption figures reflects "lagging move-ins and cautious expansion."
That said, the CRE firm does highlight that investors are showing optimism in the long-term, as 450,000 square feet of product is in the pipeline currently.
Another thing to keep in mind is the vacancy trend, which overall increased to 9.2 percent, 300 basis points higher than in the 12 months prior.
But generally, Colliers is upbeat about future performance for industrial in Southwest Florida. The Toronto-based company expects to see "continued tenant demand", which will only be strengthened by the elimination of the sales tax on commercial leases in The Sunshine State, anticipated to reduce occupancy costs.
"Growth and infrastructure investment are expected to sustain long-term industrial demand across key submarkets," Colliers further forecasted.
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