There was a flurry of leasing activity at the beginning of the year along both Route 3 and Route 4 in Paramus, which now has only 6.3 % of space available. “Larger blocks of space are virtually nonexistent in these markets,” says Lanyard.

A total of more than 1.9 million square feet was leased in the first half, according to Goldstein’s report, which puts the retail real estate market on track to beat last year’s total 3 million square feet. Leasing has risen steadily since 2008, when it totaled 2.5 million square feet.

The only market area in the survey that showed a higher rate than the national average for retail property of 13.5% was East Brunswick along Route 18, where it was 17.5%.

With market conditions improving and several markets leased up, the Goldstein report noted, a healthy amount of new construction is now underway – totaling more than 676,000 square feet.

New construction and redevelopment projects are moving forward in Mahwah, Toms River, Sayreville, New Milford, Randolph, Cedar Knolls, Montvale, Fort Lee, Parsippany, and Teterboro.

Most leasing activity was in the 1,000-5,000-square-foot range. On the other hand, big-box retailers such as Walmart, Target, Burlington Coat, Wegmans, Whole Foods, and Home Goods, as well as several national gyms opened new stores. Retailers such as furniture stores, dollar stores, and buffet restaurants were also actively leasing, according to Lanyard

“The recovery of the retail market in New Jersey is continuing at a slow, but steady pace with solid growth in leasing activity and decreasing vacancies,” says Lanyard. “We expect this moderate pace of growth to continue into the balance of the year as much of the recession’s impact on the retail marketplace is appearing to be behind us.”