Industrial property leases jumped nationally in 2011

New industrial real estate leases signed in 2011 returned to levels not seen since prior to the recession of 2008-09, according to year-end statistics for the nation’s industrial market compiled by a real estate brokerage.

More than 306 million square feet of new leases were completed last year, up 14% from 2010, and the highest level of activity since 2007, Cushman & Wakefield said.

Of the 33 U.S. industrial markets tracked by the brokerage, 22 reported an increase in new leasing activity, with Phoenix, Dallas-Fort Worth, northern and central New Jersey, Houston and California’s Inland Empire among the markets with the most significant increases.

“While there is still concern that global economic uncertainty may erode some of the progress made in the U.S. industrial market, we’re increasingly confident that we are at the beginning of a sustained recovery that will gain momentum over the next 12 to 24 months,” said Jim Dieter, head of U.S. Industrial Brokerage for Cushman & Wakefield.

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