Houston Industrial Market Stays Strong

Houston’s industrial market accelerated in the third quarter of 2026, recording its strongest quarterly leasing activity in more than four years, while office leasing remained ahead of last year’s pace despite elevated vacancy, according to Cushman & Wakefield’s latest market research.

Industrial leasing totaled 14.6 million square feet during Q3, up 66% from the previous quarter and the highest quarterly volume since Q1 2022. Year-to-date leasing reached 32.7 million square feet already equivalent to 97% of the 33.8 million square feet recorded during all of 2025.

Industrial net absorption reached 7.3 million square feet during the quarter, the strongest quarterly performance since Q1 2023. Through the first nine months of 2026, Houston has recorded 18.6 million square feet of net absorption, already well above the 13.1 million square feet absorbed during all of 2025.

The acceleration in industrial leasing was driven by a greater concentration of large transactions. Nineteen leases of 250,000 square feet or more were signed during Q3.