PHOENIX — Grocery stores and fitness centers are helping drive the Valley’s retail real estate market to a point where it is the most competitive it has ever been.
A newly released report on Phoenix’s retail market from the third quarter of 2023 by commercial real estate firm Avison Young, shows that the vacancy rate in Q3 dropped 20 basis points from 5.3% in Q2 to 5.1%. That's the Valley’s lowest vacancy rate on record.
Following the COVID-19 pandemic, demand for retail real estate in Phoenix took off and hasn’t really slowed down. Avison Young’s report pointed out that the grocery store and fitness center categories led the way. These tenants are filling up the larger voids in malls and mixed-use developments at rates higher than pre-pandemic levels.
