New York City had a good year for industrial leasing—all things considered. In 2020, industrial leasing activity totaled 7.2 million square feet, down year-over-year 17.8%, despite the pandemic, according to research from CBRE.

Leasing velocity slowed in the fourth quarter. With a recorded 870,000 square feet in leasing volume and a total of 50 transactions, activity was down more than 60% for the quarter. Through the year, ecommerce companies drove leasing activity, but in the fourth quarter, ecommerce leasing accounted for only 327,000 square feet of space compared to 1.6 million square feet in the third quarter. However, it wasn't decreased demand that caused the slowdown, but rather a decrease in availability of large warehouse and distribution space.

The vacancy rate in the forth quarter increased from 8% to 8.2%, and there market had negative absorption of 388,100 square feet. No leases were signed in Staten Island in the fourth quarter. Queens had 283,000 square feet of leasing activity, while the Bronx has 145,000 square feet. Brooklyn led leasing activity at the end of the year with 440,000 square feet in leasing volume.