(Save the date: RealShareIndustrial 2012 comesto The Bankers Club, Miami, December 5 -6.)

BOSTON-Richards Barry Joyce & Partnersreports that quarterly absorption for industrial real estate in theGreater Boston area hit 519,000 square feet thisquarter. This is the second highest quarterly figure seen in thesector over the past four years, according to the firm's indSTATusFall 2012 report. Data in this document includes warehouse, flexand manufacturing property types.

Describing this as a “strong” quarter is a highly accurateassessment for industrial property types here. Currently, thewarehouse market is experiencing the highest vacancy rate at 19.4%,which represented a decrease of 0.4% from the previous quarter thisyear. Manufacturing and flex space both reported vacancy rates of17.1%, and the flex market has seen a significant amount ofabsorption - 173,000 square feet, to be exact. Warehouse space isin the greatest demand, however, with 327,000 square feet ofpositive absorption this quarter. The firm also found that, in thewarehouse sector, that direct available square footage has droppedby more than two million square feet over the last two quarters aseight properties have experienced at least 100,000 square feet ofcommitments.