2026 warehouse market report: pricing and availability for small operators

National vacancy has stabilized near 7 percent, but space under 50,000 square feet is still the tightest in the market. Here is what warehouse pricing and availability look like in mid-2026, region by region.

Every quarter the big brokerages publish industrial market data aimed at institutional landlords and 500,000-square-foot tenants. This report reads the same numbers from the other side: what mid-2026 pricing and availability actually mean if you need 500 to 5,000 square feet to run a product business.

The national picture

The US industrial market entered 2026 stabilizing after two years of rising vacancy. Cushman & Wakefield's Q1 2026 MarketBeat puts national vacancy at 7.0 percent, the first decline from its late-2025 peak, with average asking rents at $10.20 per square foot, up 2.1 percent year over year. CBRE's Q1 figures, which track a slightly different basket, show 6.7 percent vacancy, asking rents of $11.08, and leasing volume up 14 percent year over year. Both firms agree on the direction: demand is holding, and new construction has slowed to its lowest level since 2017.

The small-space squeeze

The headline numbers hide the part that matters for small operators. Vacancy is concentrated in big boxes: buildings over 300,000 square feet are running near 10 percent vacant, while buildings under 50,000 square feet sit near 5 percent, the tightest segment in the market. Almost nobody builds small industrial anymore, because land and construction costs pencil better on big footprints. So while a national tenant can negotiate hard on a mega-warehouse, a small business hunting for 2,000 square feet is competing for scarce units, with rising rents and landlords who do not need to bend.

Region by region

West Coast gateway markets remain the most expensive place in the country to store a product: Los Angeles and the Bay Area quote roughly $17 to $22 per square foot per year for warehouse space. Texas and the south-central corridor stay the value play at roughly $7 to $12, with nearshoring demand along the I-35 corridor keeping absorption healthy.

In the Southeast, Orlando closed 2025 at about 7 percent vacancy, and brokers project it compressing toward 5 to 6 percent through 2027 as the construction pipeline empties. Asking rents crossed $10 per square foot NNN, up more than 12 percent year over year, and small-bay product is tighter still, holding vacancy in the mid-5 percent range with minimal concessions.

In the Midwest, Columbus is one of the healthiest logistics markets in the country: vacancy near 5 percent, average asking rents around $6.60 to $6.70 per square foot NNN, and 3.3 million square feet of positive absorption in the first quarter alone, per Colliers. Speculative construction is restarting, but almost all of it is bulk distribution, not small units.

What the quotes leave out

One caution when comparing any of these numbers: brokerage rates are quoted NNN, which excludes property taxes, insurance, CAM charges, utilities, and internet, and assumes you fund your own racking, equipment, and build-out. For a small operator, the all-in monthly cost of a leased unit lands meaningfully above the sticker rate. When you compare options, compare total monthly cost, not price per square foot.

What it means if you need a small space

Three takeaways. First, small industrial space will stay scarce; nothing in the 2026 construction pipeline changes that. Second, small-unit rents are rising faster than the market average, so a multi-year lease signed today prices in that trajectory. Third, flexible models are the practical hedge: co-warehousing puts you in exactly the under-50,000-square-foot segment without the lease competition. EasyBay's all-inclusive suites run a flat $450 to $3,900 per month, the same in every market, and are pre-leasing now in Orlando and Columbus.