MARKET TREND-South Florida Retail Vacancy Decreases to 5.3%

improvingThe South Florida retail market experienced a slight improvement in market conditions in the second quarter 2014.

The vacancy rate went from 5.5% in the previous quarter to 5.3% in the current quarter. Net absorption was positive 552,237 square feet, and vacant sublease space increased by 20,902 square feet. In first quarter 2014, net absorption was positive 127,325 square feet.

Tenants moving into large blocks of space in 2014 include: Publix moving into 54,044 square feet at 1700 Sheridan St; Crunch Fitness moving into 30,000 square feet at Oakland Park Festival Centre; and Jose Maria Vargas University moving into 28,546 square feet at Pembroke Place.

Quoted rental rates increased from first quarter 2014 levels, ending at $21.76 per square foot per year.

A total of 10 retail buildings with 229,127 square feet of retail space were delivered to the market in the quarter, with 2,420,812 square feet still under construction at the end of the quarter.

This trend is compared to the U.S. National Retail vacancy rate, which decreased to 6.4% from the previous quarter, with net absorption positive 23.39 million square feet in the second quarter. Average rental rates increased to $14.81, and 522 retail buildings delivered to the market totaling more than 10.8 million square feet.

The information in this news report is based on CoStar’s Second Quarter 2014 Market Report.

You can access CoStar’s Mid-Year Retail report by clicking on the following link:  CoStar South-Florida-Retail-Report-Mid-Year-2014

 

Source:  CoStar