In January, I had the pleasure of moderating a panel of peers for the Annual Forecast Conference in Chicago hosted by RE Journals. As I reflected on the commentary provided by the panelists, I realized there are several significant elements of Retail real estate that contribute to our understanding of the industry in Chicago today.
Supply and Demand
The simple law of supply and demand has created a decreased inventory of retail space. Since the Great Recession of the late 2000’s, development of retail shopping centers has been stagnant. This has allowed for more than 15 years of absorption and repositioning of retail space, leaving shopping center owners with space that has been backfilled—and limits market vacancy.