GlobeSt.com: How is leasing doing? Are you finding that landlords are getting the rental rates that they want?

Killman: Landlords are definitely getting rental rates that they want. For the first time in several years, core markets that have the best shopping centers are seeing vacancy rates hit near bottom. When you have a supply and demand curve that shows little supply coming online, but tremendous demand, rental rates are inevitably going to climb quickly. We are seeing this happen in core markets – they are pre-recession high. Retailers who were focused on doing two-for-one consolidations, closed underperforming stores, spent money on stores they know could perform in 2009 and 2010, are now flush with cash and are looking at primary trade areas for their expansions. Retailers are talking about entry into secondary and tertiary markets – now that is retail growth.

GlobeSt.com: Are you seeing transactions in the secondary and tertiary markets, and who are the people buying those properties?

Killman: In the first quarter of 2013 $8.2 billion in of retail properties transacted in the United States. There are fewer sales in secondary and tertiary markets, but it's right around the corner as the market comes back. Despite the slowdown, the retail pipeline remains robust and the sector with tremendous pent up demand for core properties. Interest rates are still incredibly low, and will be low for the foreseeable future compressing cap rates. As retailers eye new markets for expansion, developers will get some confidence back and realize that they can buy value-add properties in those markets for a fraction of what they pay in a core market. We expect private equity and institutional investors will continue to eye grocery-anchored strip centers in core markets and single tenant properties, and may venture into secondary and tertiary markets.

GlobeSt.com: You've grown JLL's West Coast retail platform by adding brokers in that area and Hawaii. What started driving that growth?

Killman: The genesis of the growth was to transition our historically national retail platform into a more locally operated platform. We still operate on a national level as the nation's largest third-party management firm, but local market clients created a need for on the ground, local-market knowledge and experts. We've hired people in San Diego, Orange County, Los Angeles and Seattle to boost our presence on the West Coast, and our Hawaii operations just brought in a five new members to support their growth. Hawaii is a great insulated market that has a very finite amount of commercial real estate – It's a market where you know everybody and all of the players in it.

Thinking about the rest of the West Coast, venture-capital money is pouring into high tech, biotech and research and development sectors, creating a strong cornerstone for strength. There's just a tremendous amount of growth!

The benefit we are seeing is an increase in disposable income – the markets are more expensive to live in than say, Kansas City, but your relative income is much higher. We're seeing a lot of new redevelopments in urban markets or the future greenfield markets that are focusing on food and entertainment, two sectors that can't be duplicated on the Internet! Theater groups are getting tighter, smaller and more nimble, and restaurants remain one of the hottest retail categories. Retailers that create real, super-high customer touch points, and an experience you can't get from the Internet will be the survivors.