Institutional investment firms are significantly reducing their minimum deal size requirements in South Florida’s industrial market, with thresholds dropping from over 100,000 square feet to as low as 50,000–60,000 square feet. This adjustment comes as large firms seek to capture momentum in the mid-market sector, according to Jason Abitbol, Senior Investment Advisor at APEX Capital Realty.
Previously, institutional investors focused on industrial properties exceeding 100,000 square feet. Now, they are targeting smaller assets. “Whereas a lot of these institutional players would only consider 100,000 square feet plus in the past, they’re now bringing that guidance down a little bit to around the 50 or 60,000 square foot range to try to pick up some momentum,” said Abitbol, who specializes in multi-tenant industrial properties and has completed over $100 million in transactions.
This change is a direct response to where deal activity is strongest in South Florida. Instead of pursuing only large properties, institutions are shifting their criteria to match the parts of the market with the most consistent turnover.
The move highlights a clear supply-demand gap. Large-format industrial spaces are struggling with absorption, while smaller multi-tenant properties remain in high demand. “The single tenant, 100,000 square foot plus product can be accommodated with the existing inventory in the market. But the multi-tenant, small-bay type product is flourishing,” Abitbol explained.
As a result, institutional investors are adjusting their acquisition parameters to pursue active mid-market opportunities, rather than waiting for large deals that are increasingly rare.
Most industrial transactions in South Florida now occur in the $5 million to $20 million range. “There’s not as much volume happening in the high-end capital markets for industrial where these $100 million deals are happening. They certainly are happening in South Florida, but the bulk of the deal volume is coming from anywhere from five to $20 million sales,” Abitbol noted.
This shift in deal size has forced institutional firms to compete in segments previously dominated by smaller players, in order to maintain deal flow and market relevance.
Institutions are also using smaller acquisitions to fill gaps in their portfolios across various South Florida submarkets. “Especially in certain markets where they want to fill in gaps and have a presence, they’re willing to maybe scale down a little bit less than they would have been willing to in the past,” Abitbol observed.
This approach is intensifying competition for mid-market assets as institutional buyers seek to establish or expand their footprint in strategic corridors.
Multi-tenant industrial properties offer risk mitigation in today’s market. Developers are increasingly designing buildings with multiple tenants to avoid reliance on a single large occupant. “The more a developer hedges their bets by having a property with a lot of tenants and offsets their dependency on just a few, the better. It’s a better situation for developers nowadays,” Abitbol said.
The shift by institutional investors toward smaller deals is fueling competition in the mid-market sector, potentially opening up opportunities in large-format properties for other investor types. This trend signals that institutional capital is adapting to the realities of South Florida’s industrial market, prioritizing flexibility and local deal flow over traditional size benchmarks.
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