Industrial vacancy in the Gardena market — an infill corridor bordered by Compton, Carson, and Torrance — expanded sharply from 2023 through 2024 as occupancy losses coincided with a wave of new deliveries. Conditions have since begun to stabilize. Vacancy has edged lower over the past several quarters and now measures 7.9%, still running above the broader Los Angeles industrial average of 6.6%.
Tenants gave back space in 2023 and 2024 amid higher operating costs, a slowdown in home sales, and softer U.S. business inventories. Total space availability, which includes sublet space, peaked near 11.8% at the end of 2024 and has since declined to 9.3%. Availability runs highest among logistics buildings at 10.3%, while specialized manufacturing space is tighter at 6.4%.
Leasing activity in newer, higher-clear-height buildings has driven the recent improvement in absorption. A 113,500-SF building at 16627 Avalon Blvd, delivered in 2023 with 36-foot clear heights and 23 dock-high doors, was leased in mid-2025 near the top end of the market's rent range. Elsewhere, move-outs among home furnishings tenants freed up space — including a roughly 147,000-SF flex building on S Figueroa St that was later sold for close to $35 million, or about $239/SF — while a 58,000-SF building vacated by a furniture importer was quickly re-leased at a gross asking rent just above $1.00/SF.
Supply additions continue to shape near-term availability. Two buildings larger than 100,000 SF delivered in 2025, along with one completed in 2024, remain on the market for lease. Notably, a roughly 100,000-SF building delivered in 2023 found a tenant in the second quarter of 2026, while a similarly sized building completed in 2022 remains available for lease at a triple-net asking rent of $1.65/SF and is simultaneously being marketed for sale at approximately $350/SF.
Overall asking rents in Gardena average roughly $1.30 per square foot per month (about $15.60 annually), below the broader Los Angeles average. Rents are down 4.1% year-over-year and remain more than 20% below the market's 2022 peak, though pricing has largely stabilized over the past few quarters.
That said, in-place tenants approaching lease expiration often face meaningful increases, a legacy of the sharp rent growth recorded across 2021 and 2022. Rent growth in the broader Los Angeles industrial market outpaced the national average throughout the last expansion cycle, a dynamic constrained availability and high development barriers are expected to reassert over the long term, with growth here projected to again outperform the national average starting in 2030.
Deliveries over the trailing 12 months totaled approximately 120,000 SF against net absorption of about 140,000 SF — a sign that demand has finally caught up with the supply added over the past several years. Roughly 479,000 SF has delivered over the past two years, well above the market's long-term annual average of around 140,000 SF. Looking ahead, the construction pipeline has thinned considerably: no new deliveries are expected over the next eight quarters, with only one proposed project — a roughly 180,000-SF building on S Figueroa St slated to break ground later this year — in the pipeline.
Sales activity is gradually recovering from a 2023 cyclical trough. Annual volume topped $100 million in both 2024 and 2025, and a $34 million second-quarter sale in 2026 has kept momentum going into the current year. Still, roughly 25 transactions have closed annually over the past three years — below the long-term norm of 30-plus sales per year — suggesting activity has improved without fully returning to historical levels.
Over the trailing 12 months, 19 comparable sales closed at an average price of $231 per square foot and an average cap rate of 3.7%, though pricing across the broader market has adjusted to reflect tighter capital markets, with institutional-grade assets typically trading in the mid-5% cap rate range. The largest recent sale was an 48,959-SF property on E Rosecrans Ave that traded for $11 million in the third quarter of 2025. Investors continue to be drawn to the market's mark-to-market potential on longer-term leases signed before the 2021–2022 rent surge, balanced against a still supply-constrained infill location.
With the construction pipeline largely empty through 2027 and demand conditions improving, vacancy is forecast to gradually tighten over the next several years, easing toward the mid-5% range by 2030. Rent growth is expected to turn positive again in 2027 and accelerate through the end of the decade as available supply is absorbed.
Q: What is the current industrial vacancy rate in Gardena?
A: Industrial vacancy in the Gardena market currently stands at 7.9%, above the broader Los Angeles average of 6.6%, though it has been edging lower over recent quarters as absorption turns positive.
Q: How much are industrial asking rents in Gardena?
A: Asking rents average approximately $1.30 per square foot per month, or about $15.60 annually — below the Los Angeles market average and down 4.1% year-over-year from recent peaks.
Q: Is new industrial construction happening in Gardena?
A: Supply has been limited recently, with essentially no new deliveries expected over the next eight quarters. One project of roughly 180,000 SF is proposed for a late-2026 groundbreaking.
Q: What are cap rates for industrial sales in Gardena?
A: Trailing 12-month sale comparables in the market have closed at an average cap rate of 3.7%, though institutional-grade assets more broadly are typically trading in the mid-5% range as capital markets have adjusted.
Q: How can I find out what my Gardena industrial property is worth?
A: Ron Mgrublian provides a complimentary Broker Opinion of Value for industrial and warehouse property owners in the Gardena market and throughout Southern California, at no cost and with no obligation.
Market data sourced from CoStar Group, licensed to Lee & Associates.
We specialize in industrial real estate from the greater Los Angeles to the Inland Empire markets, including: Long Beach, Carson, Torrance, Gardena, Compton, Rancho Dominguez, Wilmington, Paramount, Santa Fe Springs, Huntington Beach, Garden Grove, Irwindale, Signal Hill, Pomona, City of Industry, and Ontario, serving surrounding submarkets including LA South Bay, LA Central, Mid-Counties, San Gabriel Valley, Orange County and the Inland Empire.
Ron Mgrublian
Principal, Lee & Associates Los Angeles – Long Beach
Direct: 562-354-2537
5000 E Spring St, Suite 600, Long Beach, CA 90815
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