DFW retail space scooped up at nation-leading pace

DALLAS-FORT WORTH – DFW is the nation’s top market with the deepest decline in vacancy rates in retail real estate, according Jones Lang LaSalle’s U.S. Retail Outlook for second quarter 2013.

DFW retail vacancy rate fell 100 basis points, and its rental rate increased 40 basis points. DFW’s vacancy rate was followed by Seattle, Wash., and South Florida-Palm Beach County, all of which declined 70 basis points, and Atlanta, which fell 50 basis points.

Shopping centers and power centers, or outdoor conglomerates of big box stores, lead the vacancy decline, falling at 130 basis points each. As demand rises, so will rental rates. But rates aren’t expected to return to pre-recession levels for the next three to four years.

Dallas is considered a rising market, joining markets including Seattle, Wash.; Palm Beach, Calif.; Houston; and New York City, N.Y. Bottoming markets included Chicago, Atlanta, Los Angeles, and Washington D.C.

National trends show that retail supply is at the lowest level in a decade, with 16.9 million sf of development underway. Most of the new supply is big-box, single-tenant stores anchored by discount retailers.