The Cost of Industrial Vacancy in Mexico
- Maintenance fees can put different pressure on owners’ finances depending on the market and how long the space remains available.
When an industrial building is vacant, it generates no rent but still incurs maintenance costs. For the owner, a lack of tenants can therefore mean having neither income nor someone to cover part of the expenses needed to generate it. That exposure, however, grows with every available square meter and every quarter the space remains available.
In Mexico, as of mid-2026, about 502 properties totaling more than 5.7 million square meters were available across the main industrial hubs in the north, central region and Bajío, according to SiiLA. That vacancy does not necessarily disappear quickly, as episodes that could be tracked from beginning to end between 2020 and 2026 lasted a median of three quarters.¹
With that much space, even a fraction of maintenance expenses can add up to a considerable amount. SiiLA REsource calculations indicate...
When Vacancy Starts to Cost
Those ongoing expenses are not merely theoretical. Vesta, for example, reported nearly $1.2 million in operating expenses related to properties that were not leased and generated no income in its latest quarterly financial statement, including about $121,000 in maintenance. Even over the past year, quarters with detailed information show that maintenance accounted for between 9.4% and 19.1% of all operating expenses for properties that generated no income.
That means properties generating no income can incur property taxes, insurance, and other property-related expenses in addition to maintenance. But the burden of those expenses does not necessarily remain the same over time. The monthly maintenance fee associated with available space in markets with comparable data since 2020 increased 9.5% in real terms through mid-2026.²
Over the same period, available space more than doubled, increasing owners’ potential exposure, although its weight varies by market depending on the cost of maintaining the space and how long it remains available. This contrast is clear when comparing Ciudad Juárez with Mexico City. As of mid-2026, Juárez had about 792,000 square meters available, more than the capital’s 741,000, but its lower maintenance fee meant the monthly amount associated with that space was about $420,000, compared with $549,000 in Mexico City. At the same time, its greater persistence could prolong that exposure, as vacancy historically recorded a median of six quarterly observations in Juárez and three in Mexico City.
Differences like these mean that the same vacancy rate can have different implications. The percentage shows how much space is available, but not how much it costs to maintain or how long it may continue generating expenses without an occupant to cover them.
To analyze how vacancy and maintenance fees are changing across Mexico’s industrial markets, visit SiiLA Market Analytics or email us at contacto@siila.com.mx.
***
¹ The calculation considers episodes with observed starts and closures in the six markets with comparable data since 2020—Aguascalientes, Mexico City, Monterrey, Querétaro, San Luis Potosí and Tijuana.
² SiiLA REsource calculations for the same universe of markets identified in ¹. The monthly maintenance fee was weighted by available space and adjusted for inflation using the U.S. CPI-U because it is denominated in dollars per square meter.
Subscriber? Sign In
