2026 Industrial Net Lease Sales Volumes and Cap Rates

Industrial remains the most active single-tenant sector, with $7.7 billion in first quarter transactions. Sales volume declined 20.8 percent from the fourth quarter but improved 24.4 percent year over year. Cap rates rose slightly, by 2 basis points, from the prior quarter and declined 10 basis points from one year ago.

The Midwest region led transaction activity in the first quarter, recording over $1.6 billion in volume and accounting for 21.3 percent of total. The Southeast follow ed with just shy of $1.6 billion, representing 20.7 percent of overall volume. The Southwest ranked third with $1.3 billion, or 17.2 percent, while the Mid-Atlantic recorded $1.3 billion, representing 16.5 percent. The West contributed $1.1 billion, or 14.4 percent of total volume, and the Northeast region trailed with $0.8 billion, accounting for 9.8 percent.

---

READ ALSO: Industrial Report: EV Manufacturing Slows, Demand Holds

---

By region, cap rates ranged from a low of 5.84 percent in the West to a high of 7.20 percent in the Midwest. All regions, except the Midwest and Northeast, recorded modest increases over the prior quarter, while the Southwest remained unchanged. Average cap rates are up 118 basis points from the recent low of 5.21 percent recorded in the second quarter of 2022.

Private buyers accounted for 38 percent of single-tenant industrial acquisitions through the first quarter of 2026, followed by institutional investors at 33 percent. The private share fell by 7 percent from 2025, while institutional investment activity increased by 9 percent over the same period. REIT/Listed acquisitions fell from 8 percent of investment activity in 2024 to 5 percent as of the first quarter of 2026. The share of cross-border investment activity increased to 16 percent of deal volume, up from 12 percent in 2025.

—Posted on August 27, 2026