Key Takeaways
IOS is quickly evolving from a niche, fragmented space into a maturing institutional asset class, with investor appetite driven by strong fundamentals and long-term demand from large-scale projects and new technologies.
- Large Footprint, Yet Limited Supply: With use cases from high-flow logistics and asset-intensive yard and storage to intermodal and port related land, IOS spans an estimated 1.4 million acres in the U.S. Yet, well-located sites remain scarce due to zoning.
- Strong Rent Growth: IOS rents increased 123% since 2020, more than twice the rate of bulk warehouses. Phoenix, Memphis and Atlanta top the IOS rent growth list.
- Low Vacancy: Minimal purpose-built development and a diverse, evolving tenant base keep IOS vacancy rates low—about half that of bulk warehouses.
- Comparable Pricing: In some markets, IOS delivers rents similar to bulk warehouses when normalized per acre. This reflects strong demand for a finite supply, softening bulk warehouse fundamentals that narrow the rent gap and inconsistent IOS pricing strategies due to still-limited institutionalization.
Read the full report to explore the scope of the IOS market, what's driving growth and how it's shaping up to be a cornerstone of industrial real estate's future growth.
*Image provided courtesy of Alterra IOS
