"The gains are modest," Pete Bolton, senior managing director for CB Richard Ellis Inc.'s Phoenix office, tells GlobeSt.com. "But the consistent positive activity we're seeing in the retail sector will lead the way toward the start of an overall recovery across the board."

Propelling the retail sector, Bolton said, is last year's record housing starts which put 39,000 new homes on the market and 150,000 new residents in the state. But Bolton said it may still be too early to say whether last year's retail figures indicate a market recovery."It's encouraging to see the increase in activity," he said. "But I think it's as much a testament to brokers working harder than ever as it is a sign of a rebounding economy."Still, the numbers are optimistic.

Fourth-quarter net absorption rates for retail were up sharply over third quarter figures. During Q4 2002, Valley-wide net absorption was nearly 1.5 million sf, up more than 780,000 sf from the third quarter. The net absorption uptick brought the total for 2002 to slightly above three million sf.