On the cusp of the International Council of Shopping Centers’ (ICSC’s) RECon retail real estate conference (May 17-20 in Las Vegas), Colliers International, the global real estate services firm, today issued its Spring 2009 Retail Report. Per Colliers’ report, even though the apparent stabilization of the stock market has provided a bit of hope that the worst of the recession is behind us, the fact remains that significant pain is still in store for the retail sector.
Shopping center owners, investors and tenants alike have fallen victim to a severe reduction in retail spending, leaving store space vacant and same-store sales well below levels seen in recent years. Retailers have shown little interest in opening new outlets, and are instead waiting on the sidelines for economic conditions to improve and for a visible uptick on the jobs front.
In the meantime, a perfect storm has developed for retailers. The shrinking consumer dollar has essentially left the retail real estate marketplace overbuilt, and as a result, the retail sector is in the midst of one of the greatest contractions experienced in decades.
Note: Link to full report was not working, but press release contains interesting list of priciest retail real estate -- "STREETS OF GOLD (US Dollar/ Per Square Foot/ Per Year)
