Below-Market Occupancy Costs and Business-Friendly Environment Propels Carroll County Region to Less Than One Percent Vacancy Level

November 24, 2025

Light manufacturing and warehouse/logistics users increasingly attracted to areas including Eldersburg, Hampstead, Finksburg, Sykesville, and Westminster

Businesses such as PickleRage have signed significant leases in Carroll County this year, fueling the decline of an already historically-low vacancy rate to less than one per cent in the warehouse/industrial asset class. This compares favorably to the nearly 8 percent vacancy rate for this sector throughout the Maryland region. According to MacKenzie Commercial Real Estate Services, a brokerage firm which represents owners, investors, and tenants in the Carroll County area, robust activity can be attributed to the significantly lower occupancy and operational costs, the availability of labor to fill positions, a business-friendly environment, and other factors.

“The commercial real estate environment in Carroll County is like a breath of fresh air,” explained Dennis Boyle, Senior Vice President of MacKenzie Commercial Real Estate Services. “A variety of factors are weighed when a company decides to sign a long-term lease and Carroll County compares extremely favorably when compared to neighboring counties and states. This starts with the cost of the real estate and, in Carroll County, the rental rate in the warehouse/industrial class is $8.28, which is substantially below the $9.95 average in the State of Maryland.”

Boyle adds that the availability of quality and trained employees is often considered more important than the building and the location itself. “Without good people to work and handle the requirements of the company, the business cannot survive,” Boyle said. “From a cost perspective, companies typically spend approximately 90 percent of their budget on labor, while rent is 5 percent. Carroll County has an extremely attractive and diverse labor market and that goes a long way.”

Carroll County government, in partnership with the Economic Development Division, have worked hard to expedite permits and approvals needed to initiate new commercial real estate development projects and tenant build-outs and the reputation of the region is extremely business-friendly, Boyle said. “That approach is in contrast to other jurisdictions which have painfully-low processes that delay projects and cause harm to businesses and the local economy.”

“Carroll County stands out as a smart, strategic choice,” said Denise Beaver, CEcD, Director of Carroll County Economic Development. “Our competitive cost structure and business-friendly approach make us a compelling alternative to higher-cost neighboring areas.”

MacKenzie Commercial Real Estate Services is currently marketing several properties in Carroll County. In addition to Boyle, the MacKenzie sales and leasing team includes Ketch Secor and Graham Sevy. These opportunities include:

  • 151 Airport Drive – 83,000 square feet of space on five acres in Westminster
  • 1200 Independence Drive – 28,000 square feet of space available in Westminster
  • 1231 Tech Court – 151,000 square feet of space available for sale or lease in Westminster
  • 600 Hanover Pike – 12 acres of industrial land for sales or lease in Hampstead
  • Legacy Drive & Hanover Pike in the North Carroll Business Park- 5- acre industrial lots for sale in Hampstead

Boyle said that, with the availability of shovel-ready land in the Carroll County area, build-to-suit opportunities can tailor customized real estate solutions for end-users.

According to research provided by MacKenzie Commercial Real Estate Services, there is nearly two million square feet of industrial/warehouse space in the Carroll County submarket. The highest rental rate in the state is in BWI Corridor area ($13.66 per square foot) and the highest vacancy rate is in the Baltimore County West sector (10.2 percent). The total market size in Maryland is nearly 225 million square feet of space.

MacKenzie Commercial Real Estate Services is the real estate brokerage arm of The MacKenzie Companies, which operates five full-service divisions addressing all real estate asset classes including MacKenzie Management Company, MacKenzie Contracting Company, MacKenzie Capital, and MacKenzie Investment Group. The company provides customized real estate solutions for institutional owners, investors, private companies and individuals. For additional information, visit www.mackenziecommercial.com

Posted in Brokerage