Warehouse Space Coming Available in Q4 2026: How Palm Beach County Tenants Should Time a Move

If your warehouse lease runs out sometime in the next year, this quarter is worth paying attention to. Not because the market is about to flip, but because more space is about to show up on the board, and it won't show up evenly across the county.

CBRE's Q3 2026 Palm Beach Industrial Figures flagged a real block of listed space that's still occupied today but scheduled to come available in Q4. In the same breath, CBRE noted that signed leases and build-to-suits are also lined up to move in this quarter. So space is going out the door and new tenants are coming in at the same time. Which side wins decides whether vacancy peaks this year or keeps climbing.

For a tenant, the useful question isn't "is the market up or down." It's "where is the space opening up, and does any of it fit me?" Here's how I'd think about it.

The headline number hides two different markets

Countywide industrial vacancy ended Q3 right around 9%. CBRE put it at 9.1% and Cushman & Wakefield's Q3 2026 Palm Beach MarketBeat put it at 9.0%, up 90 basis points from the second quarter. The two firms count slightly different sets of buildings, but they point the same direction.

Most of that jump came from one place. A roughly 520,000-square-foot, seven-building new development delivered in Boynton Beach with about 81% of it still available at quarter-end, per Cushman & Wakefield and a local market recap from AXCESS Commercial. Take that one project out and vacancy actually fell in nearly every other submarket.

Here's what the submarket split looked like in Q3, using Cushman & Wakefield's figures as reported by both AXCESS Commercial and broker Chase Farache's flex market page:

Jupiter was the most improved submarket, down 210 basis points in the quarter, but it's still high. Boynton is where the new space landed.

So if you're a 4,000-square-foot shop in West Palm or Lake Worth, a 9% countywide number doesn't describe your search at all. Your real market is closer to "two or three good options, and someone else is looking at them too."

Why Q4 is a good quarter to start looking (not necessarily to sign)

A few things are lining up at once.

More space is coming back. CBRE's Q4 note is the big one. Some of the space currently occupied and listed will empty out this quarter. Some of it will be older, well-located buildings, which are exactly the kind that rarely sit long.

Leasing just woke back up. New leasing jumped 47.1% from the second quarter to about 301,000 square feet, ending four straight quarters of decline, according to both Cushman & Wakefield and AXCESS Commercial. More tenants are moving at the same moment more space opens up, so the window on good space doesn't get much longer.

Lots of people are staying put. 2026 renewals passed 765,000 square feet, a post-pandemic high, per the same two sources. When tenants renew instead of moving, fewer existing spaces come back to market. That's one reason small and mid-size space stays tight even with a big new project sitting partly empty.

The pipeline is drying up. CBRE and Cushman & Wakefield both say construction is at its lowest level in years. Cushman & Wakefield says everything under construction is due by year-end with less than 13% still available, and forecasts 2027 to deliver one of the lowest totals since 2019. AXCESS Commercial repeats both points. Roughly 6.0 million square feet is proposed, but few projects have actually broken ground.

Put that together and here's the practical read: this quarter and early next year probably give tenants more choice than they'll see once the current crop of space gets absorbed. Cushman & Wakefield expects vacancy to trend down over the next 12 to 18 months. If that holds, the leverage you have right now in some submarkets won't last forever.

Rents: read the average carefully

Palm Beach County's average asking rent rose 4.9% in the quarter to $14.45 per square foot, up 4.3% from a year ago and the highest in three years, per Cushman & Wakefield and AXCESS Commercial. But a lot of that jump came from the new Boynton space entering the average with asking rents north of $20.

Outside Boynton, Boca Raton was the only submarket with an annual rent increase, up 4.2% to $18.25 per square foot.

What that means: don't walk into a renewal conversation in an older West Palm building and accept "rents are up almost 5%" as gospel. That number is partly new construction pulling the average up. Your landlord's real competition is the handful of similar spaces nearby, not the county average. Our NNN vs. gross lease guide is worth a read before you compare quotes, because a lower base rent with heavy pass-throughs isn't always the cheaper deal.

How to time it, depending on where you are

If your lease is up in the next 6 months

Start now. Seriously. In the tight submarkets, the best spaces tend to get spoken for before they ever look "available" online. Get your requirements on paper (size, clear height, doors, power, parking, office) and start touring. Our warehouse tour checklist covers what to check on site.

At the same time, ask your current landlord what a renewal looks like. You want both numbers in hand: what it costs to stay, and what it costs to move once you count downtime, buildout and moving the operation.

If your lease is up in 6 to 18 months

This is the sweet spot for using Q4. Watch what comes back to market in your submarket this quarter, tour a couple of spaces even if you're not ready to sign, and get a real feel for pricing. That turns a renewal from "here's your new rate" into an actual negotiation.

If you're open to Boynton Beach or Jupiter, that's where landlords have the most space to fill and the most reason to talk concessions, like free rent or improvement dollars. Our tenant improvements guide covers how those usually get negotiated.

If you're growing and not tied to a lease date

Use the extra supply to your advantage, but don't overbuy space just because it's there. Our guide on how much warehouse space you actually need helps you size it. If you need flexibility while you figure out growth, a short-term warehouse lease can bridge the gap. Some landlords with space to fill are more open to shorter terms than they were a year or two ago.

A quick decision framework

When space opens up, I'd run every option through the same five questions:

1. Does the use work? Zoning and the lease both have to allow what you do. Our zoning guide explains how to check.
2. Does the box fit? Clear height, doors, truck access and power, not just square footage.
3. What's the real monthly cost? Base rent plus CAM, taxes, insurance and utilities.
4. What does moving actually cost you? Downtime, buildout, new permits, moving equipment, telling customers.
5. How long is the window? In Lake Worth or Boca, assume it's short. In Boynton or Jupiter, you may have room to negotiate.

If the answers to 1 and 2 are yes and the total cost is within reach, don't let a good space in a tight submarket sit while you wait for something slightly better. In those submarkets, it usually doesn't come.

Where to start looking

If you want to see what's out there now:

• The warehouse space hub pulls current spaces together in one place.
• Smaller users can start with small warehouse space in West Palm Beach, 2,500 to 5,000 SF spaces or 5,000 to 10,000 SF spaces.
• City pages: West Palm Beach, Lake Worth, Boca Raton, Riviera Beach, Boynton Beach and Jupiter.
• For the bigger picture, see the Palm Beach industrial market guide and the market report.

When you find something you like, the step-by-step leasing guide walks through LOI to move-in, and our lease negotiation guide covers what's worth pushing on.

FAQ

Is Palm Beach County's warehouse market getting easier for tenants? In some places, yes. Boynton Beach and Jupiter have a lot of available space right now. Lake Worth, Boca Raton, Riviera Beach and West Palm Beach are still tight. It depends on where you need to be.

Does more space coming available mean rents will drop? Not necessarily. The county average asking rent actually rose in Q3, partly because new space is priced higher. Older, well-located space in tight submarkets tends to hold its price. Where you might see movement is concessions on newer space with a lot of vacancy.

Should I renew or move? Get both numbers before you decide. Price a renewal and tour two or three alternatives so you know your real options. The cheapest-looking move can cost more once you add downtime and buildout.

Why do CBRE and Cushman & Wakefield report different vacancy rates? They track slightly different sets of buildings and use different definitions. This quarter they landed close together, around 9%, and both say the pipeline is thinning.

Zach Vorsteg is a Florida real estate sales associate (License SL3603483) with Cornerstone Realty, not a broker. This article is general market information, not legal, financial or investment advice. Market figures come from third-party research as published and can change; confirm current conditions and have an attorney review any lease before you sign.

Want help sorting through what's coming available in your size range? Tell us what you need and we'll pull together spaces that fit, including ones that are about to hit the market.