How hot can the industrial market get? No one knows the answer. But a recent report from CommercialEdge shows that the sizzle continues in this commercial sector, with the national average for in-place industrial rents rising 4.4% this February when compared to the same month one year earlier.

According to CommercialEdge’s most recent industrial report, the average in-place industrial rent across the top 30 markets in the United States hit $6.45 a square foot in February.

And the average price of industrial leases signed in February hit $7.35 a square foot. That is 90 cents higher than the national average for in-place leases.

And those aren’t the only strong stats for industrial. CommercialEdge reported that the national industrial vacancy rate averaged 5.2% in February, a drop of 30 basis points when compared to January.

At the same time, the average sale price for industrial space was $125 a square foot as of February. The average sales price for this sector has been on a steady upward trend for six consecutive quarters, increasing a jump of 50% from the third quarter of 2020 until the first of 2022.

Nationally, industrial transactions amounted to nearly $9.1 billion in the first two months of the year. According to CommercialEdge, this strong start is yet more evidence that investor interest in industrial properties is not slowing, considering that the first quarter of a year is typically the slowest for commercial real estate transactions.

Five U.S. markets exceeded the $500 million mark by the close of February in terms of transaction volume. Chicago industrial transactions ranked second in the country in this category, behind only Philadelphia, with $689 million in transactions.

Across the country, 592.5 million square feet of industrial space was under construction by the end of February, accounting for 3.5% of existing stock. The industrial pipeline has increased by more than 90 million square feet in the last six months, according to CommercialEdge.