Report Predicts Recovery in Ft. Lauderdale Retail-Investment Market

March 16, 2010

2 Min Read

Report Predicts Recovery in Ft. Lauderdale Retail-Investment Market

The single-family housing market in Broward County, Fla., continues to stabilize, but the improvement has not yet been sufficient to reverse weakening in retail-property fundamentals, according to the 2010 National Retail Report by Marcus & Millichap, a nationwide real estate investment services firm. The countywide vacancy rate increased 190 basis points in 2009 on negative net absorption of 1.7 million square feet, while asking and effective rents dipped for the second consecutive year.

“Both multi- and single-tenant property sales slumped in 2009, though a recovery could occur in 2010 as financing conditions continue to improve,” said Gregory Matus, regional manager of Marcus & Millichap’s Fort Lauderdale office.

Following are some of the most significant aspects of the Fort Lauderdale Retail Research Report:

Local employers will cut 2,200 positions in 2010, a 0.3 percent decline, following the loss of 19,000 jobs last year.
Approximately 800,000 square feet will be delivered this year, including the 600,000-square foot Village at Gulfstream Park. In 2009, roughly 500,000 square feet was completed in the county.
In 2010, vacancy will climb 170 basis points to 13.2 percent on negative net absorption of approximately 575,000 square feet.
Asking rents will fall 2.8 percent this year to $17.91 per square foot, while effective rents will drop 5 percent to $14.70 per square foot.

Also included in the report is the firm’s annual National Retail Index (NRI), a snapshot analysis that ranks 44 retail markets based on a series of 12-month forward-looking supply-and-demand indicators. Fort Lauderdale moved down three places this year to No. 39. Washington, D.C., claimed the top spot for the second year in a row due to a low vacancy rate and healthy job growth. Projected job gains boosted San Diego one place to No. 2, and a lack of significant construction in recent years moved San Francisco up one notch to No. 3. Forecasted job growth elevated New York City four places to No. 4, and continued layoffs dropped New Jersey three places to No. 5, despite low vacancy and the state’s relatively steady economy.

With more than 1,200 investment professionals in offices nationwide, Marcus & Millichap Real Estate Investment Services specializes in commercial real estate nationwide. Founded in 1971, the company closed 3,441 transactions in 2009.

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