The Marcus & Millichap commercial real estate brokerage firm, which specializes in investment sales, financing, research and advisory services, reported May 14 that Jacksonville’s logistics hub will be central to industrial activity.
The firm, based in Calabasas, California, published its 2026 Jacksonville Industrial Investment Midyear Outlook.
“Jacksonville is getting some breathing room after several years of heavy deliveries,” said Paul Tesdal, managing director, market leader, Jacksonville, about the volume of industrial buildings completed.
“New construction is slowing sharply, and that gives the market a better chance to work through recent vacancy increases. The port, trade activity and access to major transportation routes remain central to the metro’s industrial story.”
Marcus & Millichap said that its key findings included:
The port of Jacksonville’s resilience, along with below-metro-average vacancy, positions the Imeson Park-Oceanway submarket in North Jacksonville to attract increased investor interest, it found.
“Jacksonville’s reset should create a more disciplined investment environment,” Tesdal said.
“The strongest interest is likely to center on assets near the port and major highway corridors, where logistics demand is more visible and vacancy remains more manageable.”
It reported that “robust trade flows ... have supported leasing activity for logistics-related demand.”
That resulted in leasing of larger distribution facilities.
Marcus & Millichap reported that project completions in 2026 are expected to slow to the lowest level since 2018, coming at an opportune time “as an average of more than 5 million square feet has opened in the metro each of the previous three years.”
At the same time, it took an average of five months to lease as of early 2026, the highest level since mid-2021, it found.
The most pressure was on small-bay properties built before 2000.
Investors remained active in Jacksonville’s industrial market with private and institutional investors expected to remain focused on assets near key transportation corridors.
In Southside Jacksonville, population growth and access to transportation routes “have helped keep vacancy below 6% in early 2026, sustaining investor demand for warehouse and distribution space.”
Marcus & Millichap said private investors are likely to target assets near the Interstate 95 and I-295 interchange where properties commonly sell for less than $100 per share foot.