The past twelve months have seen a rise in multi-tenant industrial vacancy from 17.63% in 2017 to 20.13% in 2018. Over 40% of the total vacant square footage is due to a single large vacancy of over 950,000 square feet in the southwest sub-market. The increase of vacant space in this particular location from 630,000 square feet in 2017 to the current level of accounts for the total increase in vacancy in the multi-tenant industrial market as a whole in 2018. Without that additional 320,000 square feet, the market-wide industrial multi-tenant vacancy for 2018 would be slightly less than in 2017.
These adjusted figures reflect the relatively quiet market conditions seen in the past twelve months for multi-tenant space. This applies to previously existing space as well as much of the newly constructed bulk warehouse space completed in the last 12-24 months. Given the strength of the national economy and the resurgence in oil prices, this quiescence is difficult to explain. These market dynamics do not represent a stampede of tenants away from Oklahoma City metro, but more accurately represent a decrease in new-location move-ins of companies not previously in this market and a lack of significant expansions of current tenants.
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