2026 LEASING STRATEGIES

The Ask

When the existing tenant, whose lease was set to expire in October 2026, came forward wanting to renew, it felt like a routine conversation—until the terms landed: a 30% discount below market rent and a $100,000 tenant improvement allowance.

For a landlord who values a long-term, low-turnover relationship, the instinct is often to accommodate. But conceding immediately would have locked in below-market rent for years to come.

The Strategy

Instead of negotiating in a vacuum, Aidan, who has represented this landlord exclusively on leasing and renewals for seven years, suggested a different approach: find out what the space is actually worth to the market—in real time.

While staying engaged with the tenant to keep the renewal conversation alive, Aidan’s team built a full marketing package and put the space in front of two audiences at once: the open market and Inland Pacific's proprietary database of active industrial buyers and tenants.

The response was immediate. Within one week, the team had sourced a full-price, essentially concession-free lease offer from a third-party prospect.

The Leverage

That competing offer changed the entire dynamic. Rather than negotiating against a discount request with no counterweight, Aidan brought the real market offer back to the table as leverage against the tenant’s renewal terms.

Two weeks later, the existing tenant renewed—at market rate, with essentially zero concessions.

The Takeaway

Today’s industrial market is demanding. It’s taking 40%–50% more effort to get the same outcomes that came easily just two or three years ago. In that environment, the instinct to simply keep a tenant happy by discounting can cost an owner real, lasting value.

A knowledgeable broker changes the equation. By creating genuine competition—rather than negotiating a renewal in isolation—landlords can protect market pricing and secure new deals on their own terms, without defaulting to concessions just to keep a tenant in place.