CHICAGO—Consumer confidence has started to rebound and this could mean local landlords will soon finally start securing healthy rental rates for their retail properties after a long hangover from the recession.

“Obviously, that is something truly tough to predict,” Adam Foret, an associate in CBRE's Oak Brook retail landlord representation group, tells GlobeSt.com. But he considers it significant that the Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index improved in May, and continued to climb in June reaching 101.4. A reading above 90 points indicates a stable economy, while a reading of 100 points or more indicates strong growth. And the National Retail Federation found that consumer spending and retail sales also rebounded in May.

But several things have to happen before these improvements in confidence and sales translate into significant occupancy gains and rental rate increases, Foret adds. As long as the macroeconomic environment continues to improve, “we will see many landlords pretty confident that they will fill up their vacant spaces.” But most will also expect tenants to pay more.