MIAMI—Retail leasing is hot in Miami, but how does it pan out in other parts of the state? We caught up with Carrie Smith, regional managing partner with Franklin Street's Jacksonville office, to get her take on the pulse of retail leasing. In part one of this exclusive interview, she shares the trends she's seeing and the factors that influence her strategy.

GlobeSt.com: What is the state of retail leasing and how has it changed over the past 12 months?

Smith: We're seeing a higher transaction volume this year compared to last, and in discussions with our clients and colleagues this trend is consistent across the southeast. We're also noticing that franchise-driven concepts are signing up franchisees at a pace that is hard to keep up and the corporately driven concepts are expanding again.