Richmond Office Market
The Richmond office market experienced 240,000 SF of positive net absorption during Q3 2025, ending the quarter at a 14.2% vacancy rate, a tightening of 70 bps quarter-over-quarter, although an expansion of 50 bps so far in 2025. This positive net absorption was largely concentrated in the Northwest and CBD regions, which experienced a combined 240,000 SF of positive net absorption during the quarter. The market’s positive performance during the quarter brings optimism after the market saw large amounts of negative net absorption during the first half of 2025. Rents have remained stable so far in 2025, ending the third quarter at $22.43 PSF, relatively flat quarter-over-quarter and year-over-year. There is one property under construction in the market. The Class A, multi-tenant property is located at 15350 E West Road and will bring 50,000 SF of space to the Route 288 Corridor submarket, with an expected delivery of October.
Richmond Industrial Market
During the first half of 2025, Richmond experienced over 1.3 MSF of positive net absorption. This positive net absorption was largely due to the Northeast quadrant, which saw over 900,000 of positive net absorption due to the delivery of an 800,000-square-foot AutoZone Distribution Center. Also contributing to the positive net absorption was Amazon occupying 188,000 SF of space at 1701 Bermuda Hundred Road within the Southeast region. The market remained tight, ending Q2 2025 at a 5.1% vacancy rate, tighter than the historical average of 5.7% and the national average of 7.5%. Although vacancy expanded 10 bps during Q2 2025, this expansion was solely due to deliveries outpacing absorption. Average asking rents ended Q2 2025 at $9.38 PSF, an increase of 1.2% year-over-year. Overall, the market has seen a 55.0% increase in rents since the beginning of 2020. The market’s development remains strong, ending 2024 with almost 3.1 MSF of deliveries, higher than the decade’s annual average of 2.6 MSF. Development continued strong to begin 2025, ending the first half of 2025 with 1.3 MSF of deliveries. User demand is keeping the pipeline steady looking forward into 2025 and 2026.