Inland Empire vacancy hits 8.82%

Southern California warehouses are sending a mixed signal right now. The Inland Empire — the giant logistics belt east of Los Angeles — has a lot more empty space than it did a few years ago. But tenants are still signing deals, and some of the best-located buildings are holding up better than the headline number suggests. That is why the vacancy story matters — not because demand disappeared, but because the market got flooded with space and users got pickier at the same time. (cbre.com) ### What actually happened in the Inland Empire? In Q1 2026, the big brokerage houses all showed vacancy moving higher. Colliers put Inland Empire industrial vacancy at 8.1%. Cushman & Wakefield showed 8.5%. CBRE, looking at the tighter “IE Core,” put vacancy at 7.8% after a 70-basis-point quarter(cbre.com)ouses, more tenant leverage, and a market that is still digesting the giant building wave from the boom years. (cbre.com) ### If vacancy is up, why are people still talking about demand? Because leasing did not fall off a cliff. CBRE counted 13.6 million square feet of new deals in Q1, up 40.2% from Q4 2025. Colliers logged 12.5 million square feet of gross activity, above the 10-year quarterly average. JLL said the (cbre.com) market to upgrade buildings, consolidate footprints, or grab better locations on better terms. (cbre.com) ### So why does the market still feel soft? Because move-outs and new supply still outweigh leasing. Colliers said four separate 1 million-square-foot buildings went vacant in one quarter — a first for the market. It also said 53.6 million square feet sat vacant in Q1 2026, versus just 1.9 million(cbre.com)orbing a mountain of space that was started when e-commerce demand looked endless. (colliers.com) ### Why does the port matter here? The Inland Empire is not just a warehouse market. It is the back room for the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach. When import patterns change, warehouse demand changes with them. The Port of Los Angeles now says about 40% of its imports co(colliers.com)oss Southeast Asia and other trade lanes. That matters because a warehouse network built for one trade pattern does not map perfectly onto the next one. (portoflosangeles.org) ### Does that mean all buildings are in trouble? No — and this is the most important nuance. Big-box space far from the urban core has taken more pressure, especially when a huge tenant leaves. But infill buildings closer to population centers still benefit from domestic distribution, faster deliv(portoflosangeles.org)lity” language and CBRE’s strong leasing numbers both fit that idea. The market is weak in aggregate, but not uniformly weak. (cbre.com) ### What about rents and construction? Rents are no longer acting like they did in 2021 or 2022. Colliers said asking rents fell 4.1% quarter over quarter and were down 39% from the Q2 2023 peak. Construction is also much lower than the frenzy years, with Colliers showing sub-5 million square feet(cbre.com)s have clearly hit the brakes. (colliers.com) ### Why should anyone outside real estate care? Because the Inland Empire is where trade, trucking, consumer demand, and corporate inventory strategy all meet. When vacancy rises here, it usually means companies are carrying less urgency, have more choices, or are rerouting (colliers.com) collapsing. Sometimes it just means the market overbuilt and is now sorting winners from losers. (jll.com) ### Bottom line? The cleanest read is this: the Inland Empire is softer, not dead. Vacancy is high by recent standards, rents are easing, and giant empty boxes are a real problem. But leasing is still happening, construction has slowed, and well-located space tied to newer trade patterns can still outperform. That is what a split market looks like.