Vacancy Rate at Malls Increased to 9.3%.

NNN Lease Market News

Vacancy Rate at Malls in the top U.S. Markets Increased to 9.3%.

The average vacancy rate at malls in the top 80 U.S. markets increased to 9.3% in the second quarter from 9.1% in the first, according to real-estate research company Reis Inc. Those vacancy figures are the highest Reis had recorded for malls since it started tracking malls in 2000.
Meanwhile, average lease rates at U.S. malls remained steady at $38.77 per square foot per year, unchanged from the first-quarter rate, according to Reis.
Clearly, retailers want to be in the best and strongest locations," said Michael Glimcher, chairman and chief executive of Glimcher Realty Trust, owner of 23 U.S. malls. "If you're in a big market, you better be one of the top malls [there]." Mr. Glimcher said he foresees his malls reaching an average of 95% occupancy later this year from 94.1% in the first quarter and 92.6% a year earlier. In the second quarter, Glimcher signed shoe seller DSW Inc. to replace bankrupt bookseller Borders Group Inc. at its Dayton Mall in Dayton, Ohio.
Reis calculates its averages for vacancy and lease rates by sampling 40% of the retail properties each quarter in the top 80 U.S. markets.
Corrections & Amplifications: Malls in the top 80 U.S. markets in the first quarter posted an average lease rate of $38.77 and strip-mall centers registered an average of $16.54. An earlier version of this article incorrectly reported the figures as $16.54 for malls and $38.77 for strip centers.

http://online.wsj.com/article/