There's been plenty written about the state of the Southeast retail market, but it can't be described in general terms. Southeast retail has to be viewed as a region characterized by diverse micro-markets, each with its own set of unique characteristics and distinctive elements with varying abilities to weather the recession and rebound.

Miami has long been a favorite for commercial real estate investors and an especially vibrant retail leasing market. By 2008, the sub-prime mortgage crisis and the corresponding decline in home values began to impact the Miami housing market. That led to a decline in retail market rents and occupancy rates, as well as a related diminished interest in investment. Today, new developments are already in the works and pricing for core institutional retail assets is at or near record levels. Other Florida markets, especially Orlando, are also experiencing recovery consistent with the rebound of tourism and travel and, as such, are seeing improvement in retail occupancy.

Nashville experienced only a minimal dip during the recession. The healthcare, education, state government and music entertainment industries afforded the city a stable employment base and a shelter from the storm. Today, Nashville has almost no vacant anchor boxes and retail vacancy rates have remained very low. Similarly, Louisville and Lexington, KY hardly felt the impact of the downturn. Most vacant anchor boxes were quickly absorbed by expanding retailers dissatisfied by the lack of quality new development. Meanwhile, Greenville and Spartanburg, SC recovered quickly due to the timely success of major employers such as BMW, Fuji, Bosch and others.