Milwaukee Industrial Market Report

Construction plunge keeps available space scarce. Milwaukee entered this year as the only major U.S. industrial market with a vacancy rate below 3 percent. That tightness is underscored by Waukesha County, the second-largest local submarket by inventory with an advantageous location that features access to Interstates 94 and 43, as well as proximity to some of the metro’s most affluent suburbs. This helps the area maintain exceptionally tight conditions, despite having the highest average asking rent in the market. In fact, Waukesha County’s 0.6 percent vacancy ending last year ranked as the lowest of any submarket in the country with at least 25 million square feet of local supply. Available space will remain limited here and across the metro as a whole this year as development contracts. While more than 2.5 million square feet opened each year from 2019-2023, the completion total plunges to just 530,000 square feet in 2024. Tight conditions and a lack of supply-side relief should direct expanding tenants to existing space and support rent growth above the national average this year.