"We are beginning to see, however, that with all of Seattle's growth, it's losing its advantages, and other markets such as Portland, Oregon are seeing greater activity," observes Underhill.

With millennials getting older, married, and having children, their preferences are indicating a willingness to relocate for benefits such as a lower cost of living, higher quality of life, better schools and family amenities.

Companies are following the labor market and relocating from coastal cities, such as in California or New York, and opening new operations in more cost-efficient markets. This is also in part to the demographic shifts and the business-friendly environments certain states and cities are creating for corporations.

These cost-efficient markets also offer benefits to workers as they have 40%-60% lower cost of living (compared to cities such as San Francisco, LA and New York) and higher quality of life benefits such as more affordable housing, lower tax rates and shorter commute times, Underhill says.

As expected, retail growth follows these corporate and millennial relocations.

"Retail growth is likely to organically follow where demographic and economic growth is happening. As the millennial population shifts toward geographies that offer advantages such as affordable housing, high quality of life, and lower cost of living, retail rent gains and lower vacancies will likely shift to those same regions," says Underhill.

Consumer retail spending is at its highest where populations have disposable income growth. In these geographies where the millennial population is growing and economic expansion is occurring, retail is holding strong due to the overall increases in personal disposable income.