The report declared that employers are forecast to add 3,000 jobs, which is a 0.1% increase. The report also claims that nearly two million sf of new retail space will open this year.

"Lenders will continue to make distinctions on assets' credit quality and location, driving up cap rates for lesser investment-grade tenants," Spencer Yablon, director of corporate affairs in the Philadelphia office of Marcus & Millichap, says in a prepared statement. Calls to the Marcus & Millichap office were not returned by deadline.

John Wilson, retail broker and associate director of retail services for Cushman & Wakefield in Philadelphia, tells GlobeSt.com that the report is "very accurate as far as capital markets are concerned. The deals just aren't happening," says Wilson. "Maybe the high end deals aren't coming into this city."