Continuing with our 15th anniversary coverage on where retail has been, where things stand today and where things are headed, Rick Chichester, president and CEO of Faris Lee Investments, says that on a national level the retail market is faring well.

“From an investment standpoint we're seeing sustained demand for the retail property type, particularly in core/urban markets and certain sub-categories like STNL, where there is a tremendous amount of play among foreign and private investors,” he says.

Rents and vacancies have increased and decreased respectively, he adds, “giving a long-awaited reappearance of balance that is attractive to investors and consumers alike.”

In core and urban markets the respective moves in rents and vacancies have been sharp, Chichester says, in secondary and tertiary markets the pace has been more moderate. “As a whole the retail market has benefited from the relative lack of new development as well as the continuance of a low interest rate, debt-friendly capital markets environment.”

Of course all retail is consumer driven, he adds, “so the moderate but steady improvement in consumer confidence and employment provides the foundation that all of this rests on.”