· Data as of 3Q 2026 · Ironmark research
Palm Beach industrial is digesting a supply cycle that arrived just as demand cooled. Headline vacancy of 7.6% — up from a 2.6% low in 2022 and now a hair above the 7.5% U.S. rate — masks the split that sets deal terms here: the roughly 85 buildings of 100,000 SF or more are about 19% vacant, while product under 100,000 SF holds near 4.1%. Yet landlords still have the pen: rent grew 2.4% over the year, nearly double the 1.3% national pace, off a blended $18.37/SF. Sales ran roughly $798 million over the trailing twelve months at a modeled $220/SF and cap rates near 6.5% — against ~$161 and 7.3% nationally. With the pipeline thinned to 1.2% of stock and 42.5% of it preleased, this is a market re-pricing space, not appetite.
What happened in Palm Beach industrial in 3Q 2026
Four threads run through Palm Beach this quarter — absorption stayed underwater as newly delivered big boxes sat unspoken-for, vacancy split hard by building size, rent kept climbing above the national clip even as it decelerated, and the construction pipeline pulled back well under its ten-year norm:
- A year in the red. Net absorption ran roughly −340,000 SF over the trailing year and −84,000 SF in the quarter, a swing from about +360,000 SF the year prior. Newer product since 2023 draws the move-ins; older, dated space carries the move-outs.
- Two markets, one county. The ~85 buildings at 100,000 SF or more sit about 19% vacant; everything under 100,000 SF holds near 4.1%, with Lake Worth East, 45th Street, and Boca Raton West under 3%. The slack lives in the big boxes that landed into a softer market.
- Cooling, but still hot. Asking rents rose 2.4% over the year — down from a 12%-plus pace in 2022, yet nearly double the 1.3% national rate. The blended level held at $18.37 PSF. The premium sits in flex and infill; new big-box quotes sink toward $12 PSF.
- The pipeline pulls back. At about 888,000 SF, the pipeline is 1.2% of inventory — well below the ~2.9M-SF peak of early 2023 and under the 1.0M-SF ten-year average. And 42.5% of what is underway is preleased, a healthier ratio than big-box vacancy suggests.
Palm Beach industrial by submarket, 3Q 2026
Palm Beach’s largest industrial submarkets, ranked by inventory. Palm Beach County Outlying leads on size and carries the deepest construction pipeline — and, with the airport belt, most of the recent big-box slack. Boca Raton East, Jupiter, and the Broken Sound corridor stay tight and price at the top.
| Submarket | Vacancy | Asking Rent / SF | 12-Mo Net Absorption |
|---|---|---|---|
| Palm Beach County Outlying | 20.2% | $13.74 | (10K SF) |
| Boynton Beach | 12.9% | $17.21 | (79K SF) |
| West of Turnpike | 3.4% | $18.40 | 111K SF |
| Central Palm Beach Area | 3.6% | $16.48 | (98K SF) |
| Park at Broken Sound | 3.1% | $21.89 | 102K SF |
| Palm Beach Airport | 12.3% | $19.33 | (404K SF) |
| Lake Worth West | 4.3% | $19.50 | (70K SF) |
| Palm Beach overall | 7.6% | $18.37 | (340K SF) |
Asking rent in $/SF NNN; net absorption trailing 12 months, negatives in parentheses. Ranked by inventory; top seven of 23 submarkets shown. Vacancy is where you sit — the Broken Sound corridor, West of Turnpike, and the central county stay tight; the outlying and airport big-box submarkets carry the county’s slack.
Palm Beach industrial capital markets: sales volume, pricing and cap rates
Palm Beach industrial traded roughly $798 million over the trailing twelve months — well ahead of the ~$478 million ten-year average, so activity is running hot rather than stalling, even after the 2021–22 spike faded. Price is the story: a modeled $220 per square foot and cap rates near 6.5%, against $161/SF and 7.3% nationally. Buyers are paying up for a wealth-driven, land-constrained South Florida growth market — and underwriting the discipline, not walking away from it.
Comparable-sale pricing centers on a $248 median across 239 deals, against a $198 average — small infill trades drag the average down, so the median reads truer for institutional product. By subtype, logistics leads volume at $616M and prices at $210/SF on 6.4% caps, while flex prices highest at $240/SF on 6.9% caps across $94.9M of volume. Private investors and users account for roughly 60% of volume, institutions another ~20%, with private equity and owner-users near 10% each — conviction here is local and long-hold. The constraint is basis, not appetite. With rent growth normalizing toward ~1% and cap rates in the mid-6s, buyers are underwriting to durable in-place income and functional small-bay, not to another rent surge. Tenanted, well-located product still clears; speculative big-box is where the bid-ask has yet to close.
Ironmark’s read on Palm Beach industrial
What Ironmark is seeing in the Palm Beach industrial market in 3Q 2026, beyond the reported numbers.
Palm Beach doesn’t have a demand problem — it has a land problem. A wealthy, still-growing county with almost nothing left to build will always run tighter than its vacancy rate reads.
The 7.6% headline is a handful of empty big boxes doing the talking. Strip out the ~85 buildings over 100,000 SF — near 19% vacant on four big-box leases in two years — and the space you can actually rent is nearly full: under 4.1% below 100,000 SF, sub-3% in Lake Worth East, along 45th Street, and in Boca Raton West. Eighty-five percent of the last two years’ leasing happened under 20,000 SF — a built-out county of local businesses, not national distributors. That’s the thesis: land is the constraint, wealth and in-migration are the demand, and neither is changing. Starts have pulled back and 42.5% of the pipeline is preleased, so 2027 sets up tighter than today reads. The play is functional infill you can hold and push on rent.
— The Ironmark read on fundamentals · (561) 621-5450 · hello@ironmarkcre.com
You don’t buy Palm Beach for yield — you buy it because they stopped making it. At mid-6 caps against a 7.3% national print, the premium is the barrier to entry, and it isn’t coming in.
Roughly $798 million changed hands over the trailing year against a $478 million ten-year average — this market is trading heavier than its own history, not cooling. What you pay for is the barrier itself: a modeled $220 per foot and cap rates near 6.5%, versus $161 and 7.3% nationally. That spread is what a supply-constrained, high-income, in-migrating county costs, with no new-supply valve to relieve it. Private buyers and users are still about 60% of volume, institutions near a fifth — conviction here is local and long-hold. With rent growth normalizing toward ~1%, we underwrite durable in-place income, not appreciation. Tenanted, well-located product clears; speculative big box is the only place the bid-ask still has to close.
— The Ironmark read on capital markets · (561) 621-5450 · hello@ironmarkcre.com
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the industrial vacancy rate in Palm Beach County?
Industrial vacancy in Palm Beach County was 7.6% in Q3 2026, up from a 2.6% low in 2022 and a hair above the 7.5% U.S. rate, according to Ironmark’s Q3 2026 Palm Beach Industrial Brief. The increase is a supply story: newly delivered big boxes arrived as demand cooled, while small-bay space across Palm Beach County stayed close to full.
Is small-bay or big-box space tighter in Palm Beach County?
Palm Beach County industrial splits hard by building size in Q3 2026: the roughly 85 buildings of 100,000 SF or more are about 19% vacant, while product under 100,000 SF holds near 4.1%, per Ironmark’s Q3 2026 Palm Beach Industrial Brief. Lake Worth East, 45th Street and Boca Raton West all sit under 3% vacancy, so small-bay tenants have the fewest options.
What does warehouse space rent for in Palm Beach County?
Blended industrial asking rent in Palm Beach County was $18.37 per SF NNN in Q3 2026 and grew 2.4% over the year, nearly double the 1.3% national pace, according to Ironmark’s Q3 2026 Palm Beach Industrial Brief. The premium sits in flex and infill space, where Park at Broken Sound asks $21.89 per SF, while new big-box quotes sink toward $12 per SF.
What are industrial buildings selling for per square foot in Palm Beach County?
Palm Beach County industrial sold at a modeled $220 per SF in Q3 2026, against roughly $161 per SF nationally, per Ironmark’s Q3 2026 Palm Beach Industrial Brief. Comparable sales centered on a $248 median across 239 deals versus a $198 average, since small infill trades drag the average down. Palm Beach County volume totaled about $798 million over the trailing twelve months.
What are industrial cap rates in Palm Beach County?
Industrial cap rates in Palm Beach County averaged 6.5% in Q3 2026, inside the 7.3% U.S. benchmark, according to Ironmark’s Q3 2026 Palm Beach Industrial Brief. By subtype, logistics led volume at $616 million and priced at $210 per SF on 6.4% caps, while flex priced highest at $240 per SF on 6.9% caps across $94.9 million of volume.
How much industrial space is under construction in Palm Beach County?
Palm Beach County had about 888,000 SF of industrial space under construction in Q3 2026 across 11 buildings, or 1.2% of inventory, with 42.5% already preleased, per Ironmark’s Q3 2026 Palm Beach Industrial Brief. That pipeline sits well below the roughly 2.9-million-SF peak of early 2023 and under the 1.0-million-SF ten-year average, so new supply thins from here.
Is Palm Beach County industrial absorption positive or negative?
Palm Beach County industrial net absorption ran roughly negative 340,000 SF over the trailing twelve months in Q3 2026 and negative 84,000 SF in the quarter, a swing from about positive 360,000 SF a year earlier, per Ironmark’s Q3 2026 Palm Beach Industrial Brief. Newer product delivered since 2023 draws the move-ins; older, dated Palm Beach County space carries the move-outs.
Who is buying industrial property in Palm Beach County?
Private investors and users accounted for roughly 60% of Palm Beach County industrial sales volume in Q3 2026, with institutions another 20% and private equity and owner-users near 10% each, per Ironmark’s Q3 2026 Palm Beach Industrial Brief. Volume of $798 million ran well ahead of the $478 million ten-year average, so Palm Beach County conviction is local and long-hold.
Buying, selling, or leasing in Palm Beach? See Ironmark’s Palm Beach County industrial brokerage, or read every Florida market brief.
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Ironmark Florida Industrial Brief — Palm Beach Edition. This brief is Ironmark Capital Advisory’s own analysis and commentary, current as of 3Q 2026; it is informational and not tax, legal, or investment advice. © 2026 Ironmark Capital Advisory.