Q2 2026 Market Outlook
Industrial
“Columbia’s industrial market has almost no available space to offer growing companies. Class A industrial vacancy in the Columbia metro stood at roughly 4.5% to 6% in early 2026, among the tightest readings in the Southeast, with more than 90% of the market’s limited vacant space concentrated in functionally obsolete buildings built before 2000. Rents for Class A product have climbed alongside that scarcity as tenants compete for a shrinking pool of modern, well-located buildings.
Columbia’s roughly 81-million square-foot industrial base benefits from a central position at the intersection of Interstates 20, 26 and 77, putting it within a few hours’ drive of Charlotte, Atlanta, Raleigh and two major East Coast Ports of Charleston and Savannah. South Carolina has ranked among the nation’s fastest-growing states for several consecutive years, and that population growth, combined with the Scout Motors investment and a broader wave of manufacturing relocations to the Southeast, has outpaced the market’s ability to deliver new speculative industrial space.”
– John Gregory, PE, SIOR, CCIM | Shareholder | NAI Columbia
View full Industrial Report here
Office
“The Columbia office market continues to demonstrate stability and steady growth, with healthy leasing activity in both the Central Business District (CBD) and the surrounding submarkets. Downtown continues to benefit from tenant demand for Class A office space and the amenities that come with it, while activity in the suburban submarkets reflects a growing emphasis on cost efficiency. These tenants seem to be prioritizing lower occupancy costs, specifically with regard to reduced parking expenses and lower operating costs associated with maintaining amenity-rich properties.”
– Will Dupree | Associate | NAI Columbia
Retail
“The Columbia MSA retail market remains healthy, with the suburban ring growing out and the urban core growing up. Vacancy stays low region-wide, driven by sustained in-migration to South Carolina — Lexington and Richland Counties are among a small group of counties capturing the bulk of the state’s population growth.
On the suburban side, two proposed Walmart Supercenters underscore continued outward expansion: one in West Lexington, joining a Target and Academy Sports already under development, and one near the Lake Carolina entrance on Hardscrabble Road in Blythewood. Both reflect retail following rooftop growth at the region’s edges.
Downtown, growth is trending vertical rather than outward. A new Publix on Bull Street is underway and several mixed-use projects in the pipeline are delivering ground-floor retail to complement residential and office uses, densifying the core.
More than 80% of South Carolina’s population gain since the 2020 Census has come from just 10 counties, including Lexington and Richland — a trend expected to keep both submarkets tight through the rest of 2026.”
– Bobby Balboni, CCIM | Senior Associate | NAI Columbia
