Industrial

At the end of the first quarter 2017, the Houston industrial market finds itself in very familiar territory, with several dominant trends largely maintaining course. Despite continued struggles within the oilfield manufacturing sector, the overall market is still in very good shape. Large consumer goods distributors driven by population growth in the greater Houston area and plastics users responding to increased demand from expanded chemical plant capacities produce the headliner transactions in the current market. This has been the case for the last 12 to 24 months. While leasing and sales for existing manufacturing facilities have slowed in recent years, there are some bright spots to report. CoStar notes an overall market vacancy increase of less than 0.5 percent to a still-historically low 5.7 percent. Northwest and Southeast Houston lead the way in terms of major activity. Northwest Houston currently has 5.1 percent vacancy, driven by consumer product companies like Serta Mattresses, which leased 268,482 square feet at Trammell Crow’s Fallbrook Pines, and Shaw Carpet, which leased 201,600 square feet at Prologis Jersey Village. These firms are inking long-term deals for manufacturing and distribution hubs, reflecting their confidence in the area’s long-term consumer growth. Multiple large positions from FedEx and …