Rents slip as mall vacancies at 14-year high
October 07, 2008
The average vacancy at large U.S. malls in the third quarter rose to its highest level since 2001 and vacancy at strip malls hit a 14-year high, as strapped retailers failed to lease new space, or broke leases.
The average U.S. mall vacancy rate rose 0.1 percentage points to 6.6 per cent, its highest since the fourth quarter of 2001.
Asking rent at U.S. malls inched up 0.1 per cent to $40.59 (U.S.) per square foot.
At strip malls, overbuilding helped propel the average vacancy up 30 percentage points from the prior quarter, to 8.4 per cent, its highest level since 1994.
The average rent at U.S. strip malls in the third quarter was $17.57 per square foot, down 0.2 per cent, its largest per cent fall since the second quarter of 2001 and the second straight quarterly decline.
By the end of the quarter, 2.8 million more square feet of unrented space was added to the market.
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