Zero available buildings near Long Beach Airport: what that vacancy number is really telling owners

As of September 2025, there were roughly 10 to 15 available industrial buildings in the Long Beach Airport submarket. Within about a year, that number reached zero. That is not a gradual tightening, it is a submarket getting absorbed by a single tenant category almost faster than it can be tracked.

What drove it

Aerospace and defense firms accounted for 34 percent of the $12 billion in venture capital that flowed into Los Angeles County companies in 2025. Across the South Bay alone, that translated into 1.4 million square feet leased across 11 major deals in a single year. Long Beach Airport, sitting on legacy aerospace manufacturing sites once occupied by McDonnell Douglas and Boeing, was the natural landing spot.

What zero vacancy actually means for you

• If you own a building in this submarket, you are not competing on price anymore, you are one of the only options a well-funded tenant has
• Renewal conversations shift in the landlord's favor when a tenant has nowhere else credible to go
• If you are searching for space here as a buyer or tenant, plan for a longer search radius, not a longer wait for something local to list

Zero available inventory in one submarket does not mean the whole region is tight the same way, and it is worth checking whether your building specifically has what this tenant pool needs before assuming you can price into this the way a neighbor with better power and clear height can.