Retail's Fate Still Unclear Amid 'Mixed-Bag' Market Reports

LOS ANGELES-If the nation’s shopping center investors were hosting a once-popular TV game show, they might ask one simple question: Will the real retail property market please stand up?

Many commercial real estate brokers and analysts here and across the nation tell GlobeSt.com that they’ve never before been so deluged with reports that suggest that the value of big shopping malls and other retail properties are poised for a solid increase — or that prices have already peaked and will continue to tumble over obstacles that include a faltering economy and growing jobless rate.

In the past, the holiday sales reports by the nation’s big retailers were a fairly good indicator of the retail property market’s overall health. Solid levels of consumer spending not only point to underlying economic strength, but also tend to fatten the profits of property owners because many landlords base their rent on a percentage of their retail tenants’ sales.