Perception Drives Anchor Rents Up

CHICAGO—Rents for retail anchor spaces in the metro area have increased considerably in the past year, but experts say that boost may not be justified by the relatively slow absorption and high rate of vacancy in the market.

“It’s partly due to how people perceive the market,” Joe Parrott of CBRE tells GlobeSt.com. The Bannockburn, IL-based senior vice president of retail services specializes in leasing anchor retail space throughout the Midwest, and just released the company’s annual spring report on anchor retailers in Chicagoland. “Everyone has heard a great deal of good economic news and assumes it’s more broad-based than it really is.”