The non-traded industrial fund reported rent growth of nearly 45 percent on comparable leases while estimating portfolio rents remain roughly 17.5 percent below market.

April 17, 2026

Ares Industrial Real Estate Income Trust Inc. disclosed its latest net asset value and portfolio update as of March 31, 2026, revealing an aggregate fund NAV of approximately $5.07 billion, up modestly from $5.05 billion at the end of February. The NAV per share across all fund interest classes stood at $13.2083, a slight increase from $13.2057 the prior month.

The Maryland-based non-traded REIT, which focuses exclusively on industrial properties, reported total investments of roughly $10.41 billion as of the end of the first quarter. The largest component was direct investments in industrial properties valued at approximately $9.7 billion, followed by investments in real estate debt and securities totaling about $661 million.

Portfolio Scale and Occupancy

As of March 31, 2026, the company directly owned and managed 271 industrial buildings encompassing approximately 57.6 million square feet spread across 31 U.S. markets. The portfolio was 89.2 percent occupied, with a slightly higher leased rate of 90.2 percent reflecting signed leases that had not yet commenced.

The operating portfolio consisted of 269 stabilized industrial buildings totaling about 57.4 million square feet at 89.3 percent occupancy. The remaining two buildings, totaling roughly 200,000 square feet, comprised the value-add portfolio of properties undergoing repositioning or recently completed developments. Bulk distribution facilities accounted for the largest share at 78.3 percent of rentable square footage, followed by light industrial buildings at 21.6 percent.

Strong Rent Growth and Below-Market Rents

During the trailing twelve months ended March 31, 2026, the company completed approximately 8.1 million square feet of new and renewal leasing activity. Rent growth on comparable leases averaged 44.9 percent on a cash basis and 53.7 percent using GAAP-based rental rates — a sign of significant embedded value in the portfolio.

The company estimated that rents across its holdings remained approximately 17.5 percent below market on a weighted-average basis, suggesting continued upside as leases roll to current market rates. The average effective annual rent stood at roughly $8.07 per square foot, and the weighted-average remaining lease term was approximately 3.7 years. Nearly 99 percent of leases were structured on a triple-net basis.

Geographic and Tenant Diversification

New Jersey represented the top market by fair value at $947.5 million, or 9.8 percent of total property value, followed by Dallas at $826 million and Southern California at $797 million. Chicago, South Florida, and Atlanta rounded out the six largest markets, each exceeding $600 million in property value.

Amazon was the largest tenant, accounting for 7.6 percent of annualized base rent and 6.9 percent of occupied square footage. No other single customer represented more than 3 percent of total rent. Transportation and logistics tenants collectively made up the largest industry segment at 16.9 percent of annualized base rent, followed by e-commerce and fulfillment at 11.2 percent and food and beverage at 8.9 percent.

Capital Activity and Leverage

The company raised gross proceeds of approximately $242.1 million during the first quarter of 2026 through its continuous offering, distribution reinvestment plan, and DST Interest sales. During the same period, aggregate redemption requests totaling $61 million for January through March were fulfilled in full.

The leverage ratio stood at approximately 44.7 percent as of quarter-end, with a weighted-average interest rate on consolidated borrowings of 4.36 percent. Total line of credit, term loan, and mortgage obligations amounted to roughly $4.64 billion.

Acquisition activity was limited during the quarter, with the company purchasing one industrial building for approximately $26.3 million and completing development on one building of roughly 100,000 square feet. The independent valuation advisor used a weighted-average exit capitalization rate of 5.6 percent and a discount rate of 7.3 percent with an average holding period of about 10.1 years in its property valuations. Monthly gross distributions of $0.0525 per share were authorized for March 2026.

Ares Industrial Real Estate Income Trust is part of the broader Ares Management platform, which also manages Ares Strategic Income Fund, a rapidly growing BDC that recently reported nearly doubling its investment portfolio to over $21.5 billion.