Investors Like Tampa Shopping Centers

TAMPA, FL-A stable vacancy rate of about 10% and higher asking rents are expected to be magnets for investors in Tampa Bay’s shopping centers market, according to a new market analysis by Marcus & Millichap.

Sales volume and prices reached new heights in 2003 with over $250 million in properties traded. Neighborhood and community centers sold for a median price of $90 per sf, up from $64 per sf in 2002.

“Prices were up for all shopping center types with the exception of regional centers,” notes Steven M. Ekovich, Marcus & Millichap’s regional manager in Tampa. He says the average price decline in the regional centers category was “due to the inexpensive sales of the defunct Tampa Bay Center property for $24 per sf and the Markside Mall for $20 per sf.”