Metro Detroit · Industrial · Q2 2026
Detroit industrial market report — Q2 2026
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Key findings
- Total vacancy 3.6% — still among the tightest large industrial markets in the Midwest.
- Average asking rent $7.94 per square foot, well below coastal and Sun Belt comparables.
- Net absorption −674,544 square feet for the quarter.
- 2.8 million square feet under construction across 10 projects.
The short answer
Detroit industrial vacancy was 3.6% in Q2 2026 with average asking rent at $7.94 per square foot, on net absorption of −674,544 square feet and 2.8 million square feet under construction across 10 projects. Tight vacancy with negative absorption is a supply story, not a demand recovery.
Summary
Key findings
- Total vacancy 3.6% — still among the tightest large industrial markets in the Midwest.
- Average asking rent $7.94 per square foot, well below coastal and Sun Belt comparables.
- Net absorption −674,544 square feet for the quarter.
- 2.8 million square feet under construction across 10 projects.
The Q2 2026 figures
- 3.6%
- Total vacancy
- $7.94 / SF
- Average asking rent
- −674,544 SF
- Net absorption
- 2.8M SF
- Under construction
CBRE · as of
CBRE · as of
Negative for the quarter
CBRE · as of
Across 10 projects
CBRE · as of
CBRE's Detroit Industrial Figures for Q2 2026 record 3.6% total vacancy against an average asking rent of $7.94 per square foot. Net absorption was negative for the quarter at −674,544 square feet, with 2.8 million square feet under construction across 10 projects.
These are CBRE's figures and we publish them as theirs. What follows is our own read, which is the part we are accountable for.
C3's interpretation
C3's read: what a 3.6% vacancy with negative absorption actually tells a buyer
This section is C3 CRE's own read. It is not a restatement of any third party's report, and it is the part we are accountable for.
Negative absorption inside a 3.6% vacancy rate is not a softening market. It is a market where a small number of large occupiers gave back space in a quarter, against an inventory that has almost nothing available. One 500,000 square foot vacancy moves metro absorption and changes almost nothing about what a 40,000 square foot user can actually find.
The number that matters to most of our clients is not the headline vacancy — it is availability in their size band and their submarket. Under 50,000 square feet with 24-foot clear and adequate power, the practical vacancy across Macomb and Oakland is materially tighter than 3.6%, and tenants routinely renew at above-market because the alternative does not exist.
At $7.94 per square foot average asking, Detroit remains one of the cheapest large industrial markets in the country on rent, and one of the most expensive on time. Buyers should underwrite the search timeline, not just the rent. We regularly see users spend two quarters looking for space that would have taken six weeks in Indianapolis.
2.8 million square feet under construction across 10 projects is a modest pipeline for a market this size, and most of it is large-format. It will not relieve the small-bay shortage. If your requirement is under 50,000 square feet, the delivery pipeline is not your solution — an off-market purchase or a build-to-suit is.
For buyers: the negative absorption print is an opening for a price conversation on any building with a near-term vacancy. Sellers read their own market as 3.6% and price accordingly; a quarter of negative absorption is the first credible argument against that in two years.
Where this report reads beyond the cited figures, the basis is C3 CRE's own Michigan and Tampa Bay transaction experience, not a published dataset.
Next quarter
What we're watching next quarter
- Whether Q3 2026 absorption returns positive, which would confirm Q2 as a single-occupier artefact rather than a trend.
- Deliveries out of the 2.8 million square foot pipeline and whether any of it is small-bay.
- Asking rent movement in Macomb County's Van Dyke and Gratiot corridors, where the small-bay shortage is most acute.
Sources
Where these figures come from
- CBRE — Detroit Industrial Figures, Q2 2026 · figures as of
Every figure on this page carries a named source and an effective date. Where the reading rests on C3 CRE's own transaction experience rather than a published dataset, it is disclosed as such rather than presented as data.
Questions
Detroit industrial — Q2 2026 — questions we get asked
- What is the industrial vacancy rate in Detroit?
- Total Detroit industrial vacancy was 3.6% in Q2 2026 according to CBRE's Detroit Industrial Figures, with average asking rent at $7.94 per square foot.
- Is Detroit industrial getting cheaper?
- Not on rent. Q2 2026 recorded negative net absorption of 674,544 square feet, but vacancy remained at 3.6% and asking rent at $7.94 per square foot. The negative absorption is concentrated in large-format space and has not loosened the small-bay market.
- How much industrial space is under construction in Detroit?
- 2.8 million square feet across 10 projects as of Q2 2026, per CBRE. The pipeline is predominantly large-format and will not materially relieve the shortage of space under 50,000 square feet.
The rest of the series
Related reports
Prior quarter, next quarter, the same market in other property types, and the same property type in other markets — generated by the template, not added by hand.
This is the first published issue of the Metro Detroit industrial series. The next issue covers the following quarter and will link back to this one automatically.
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