The Atlanta Industrial market had an outstanding third quarter. Even with the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, Atlanta’s industrial real estate market continued to thrive with exceptional demand in Q3 2020. Vacancy dropped 50 basis points to 6.6%, even with seven million SF of new industrial inventory entering the market. Leasing activity, while not as robust as quarters past, still showed strength in numbers as industry giants Amazon and Home Depot grew their Atlanta footprints in Q3. These expansions and new relocations are leading to thousands of new jobs in the Atlanta marketplace.

In the October 2020 release by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, Atlanta’s unemployment rate was 6.3% in August 2020, a 2.3% decreased from than June and July 2020’s 8.6% unemployment rate. While unemployment is still higher than pre-pandemic levels, we are hopeful the Atlanta market will finish out 2020 with continued job growth fueled by its robust industrial market.

Under construction has hovered in the 20-millions since 2018, and we are not seeing a slow down in new projects. At the end of the third quarter, there were 51 projects under construction totaling 19.6 million SF. Of that, 41 projects were speculative and 9% preleased. As restrictions ease, we expect to see an increase in activity as developers capitalize on tenant demand in e-commerce and transportation sectors.