A common baseball analogy that explains where we are in the real estate cycle is “What inning are we in?” Regardless of the inning, in North Texas we’re just hoping it’s the first game of a doubleheader! The first quarter of 2017 was another respectable one for leasing activity in the Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW) industrial market. Total absorption for all properties was 5.5 million square feet, with 6 percent vacancy across 786.5 million square feet of industrial space. New supply totaled 6.6 million square feet for the first quarter. Just over 8 million square feet of new construction is underway in DFW, with 15 million square feet designated “big box,” or more than 200,000 square feet. Big box experienced absorption of 4.6 million square feet in the first quarter, despite having only 3.8 million square feet of new supply. The metroplex has been the beneficiary of some very large lease signings. Amazon alone is responsible for multiple leases totaling several million square feet. UPS recently leased a 1 million-square-foot property in Arlington, and Ashley Furniture announced the purchase of 358 acres in Mesquite for an 850,000-square-foot design/build distribution facility. In addition, a 1.4 million–square-foot, build-to-suit lease by a well-known real …
