Columbus, OH Retail Market Report Q3 2026
Net Move-Outs Reach 694K SF in Q3, but Rents Rise 5.0%
Demand
Columbus posted net absorption of -694K SF in Q3 2026, against 175K SF in the same quarter last year. Vacancy is 4.0%, 86 bps looser than Q3 2025. Morrow County is the tightest submarket at 0.5% vacancy; Polaris leads rent growth at +6.1%. Trailing-12-month absorption of -499K SF compares with -18K SF a year earlier. Asking rent of $21.77/SF is up 5.0% year over year and a record. Vacancy sits 104 bps above the Q4 2025 low of 2.9%.
Supply
Columbus delivered 74K SF in Q3 and 599K SF over the trailing twelve months (+21% versus the prior TTM period). Space under construction equals 0.1% of inventory, concentrated in Hilliard at 0.5% of its stock. Annual deliveries peaked at 3.14M SF in 2007. Q3 deliveries were less than half of last year’s 152K SF.
Investment Market
Columbus recorded $0.6B in sales over the trailing twelve months, -14% against the prior TTM period; Q3 accounted for $173M. The high-water mark in this series is $0.9B in 2015.
Columbus cap rates average 7.92%, up for 18 straight quarters. Pricing sits at $174/SF, higher for 2 consecutive years. The cap rate is 58 bps above the Q1 2022 low of 7.34%. Price per SF is at a record.
Volume
- $0.6B TTM volume (-14% YoY)
- Q3 2026: $173M
Pricing
- Cap rate 7.92%
- Price per SF $174
- Caps expanding 18 quarters running
