Vacancy remained stable through 2025, while Class A options narrowed
PITTSBURGH, PA – January 12, 2026 - Lee & Associates of Western Pennsylvania today announced the release of its Q4 2025 Industrial Intel Market Report, providing a data-driven analysis of industrial real estate trends, leasing performance, construction activity, and development conditions across Southwestern Pennsylvania.
Southwestern Pennsylvania ended 2025 with stable overall market fundamentals, as vacancy moved only modestly throughout the year and remained within a consistent historical range. The region closed Q4 with 5.26% vacancy and 6.40% availability, while net absorption totaled -417,374 SF for the quarter.
A defining shift in 2025 was the continued tightening of Class A space. Class A vacancy declined each quarter and ended Q4 at 4.41%, the lowest level recorded over the past five years, with just over 1.0 million SF available across 13 buildings in the region. While overall conditions remained steady, quarterly absorption was weighed down primarily by vacancy and churn in Class C inventory.
Southwestern Pennsylvania’s vacancy trend has also been notably less volatile than the national market. While U.S. industrial vacancy has shown a more pronounced cycle, falling to post-pandemic lows and then climbing sharply since late 2022, Southwestern Pennsylvania has held within a narrower range, reflecting the region’s supply profile and demand patterns.
“Southwestern Pennsylvania continues to behave like a stable, locally driven industrial market,” said Heather Kreiger, CCIM, Principal & Regional Research Director of the Lee & Associates Pennsylvania offices. “What stood out in 2025 was the tightening in Class A. Vacancy fell to a five-year low as the market absorbed prior deliveries and options narrowed. Compared with the national market’s sharper swings, Southwestern Pennsylvania’s trend line has been far more measured.”
Allegheny County remained the region’s primary activity center and performance driver, accounting for more than half of the region’s inventory and posting 1.83 million SF of leasing volume in 2025. The county ended Q4 with 5.80% vacancy. While net absorption was negative in Q4 (-126,067 SF), conditions varied meaningfully by building class, with stronger performance in higher-quality space and ongoing churn concentrated within older inventory. Asking rents in Allegheny continued to firm, ending Q4 at $8.02/SF.
About the Q4 2025 Industrial Intel Report
The Lee & Associates Industrial Intel Report is a quarterly analysis of industrial market performance across 7 counties in Southwestern Pennsylvania including Allegheny, Armstrong, Beaver, Butler, Fayette, Washington, and Westmoreland Counties. The report tracks approximately 170 million square feet of inventory in Southwestern Pennsylvania alone, focusing on leasing activity, vacancy trends, construction, and development.
Report availability: The full Q4 2025 Industrial Intel Market Report is available upon request.
About Lee & Associates of Western PA
Lee & Associates is a full-service commercial real estate firm with offices in Pittsburgh, Mechanicsburg and Plymouth Meeting, PA. The firm’s Research division provides deep market intelligence and custom analytics across key industrial submarkets in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic.
Media Contact:
Heather Kreiger, CCIM
Principal and Regional Research Director for the Lee Pennsylvania offices
hkreiger@lee-associates.com | 610.590.1007