Florida Dominates List of Top Retail Metros to Watch This Year

Florida cities dominate the list of top retail investment metros in 2023, according to a new report from Crexi.

Miami tops the list, while West Palm Beach comes in #3 — and the Sunshine State locales of Fort Lauderdale and Tampa/St. Petersburg also place in the top 10.

Miami nabbed the top spot with an overall vacancy rate of just 3.1%, according to Cushman & Wakefield data, while on Crexi, average asking prices for Miami retail jumped by over 20% annually year over year in 2022. Gross asking rents averaged $37.35 per square foot per year and absorption clocked in at 86,892 square feet through Q3 2022.

It was followed by Nashville, with an overall vacancy rate of just 3.3% and a 2022  median closed value of retail transactions of $386 per square foot, up from $346 in 2021. Just shy of 240,000 square feet of retail space was absorbed by new businesses in 2022, with 105,523 square feet of new construction underway.

At #3, West Palm Beach boasts a retail inventory of 38,307,626 square feet of space, with an overall vacancy rate of 4.6% and $261 million closed in 2022, per Crexi data. Number four Charleston has a retail vacancy rate of 5.5% and $477 million transacted in 2022. with third quarter absorption clocking in at 115,570 square feet. Asking rents are averaging $20.21 per square foot at full-service gross.

Austin rounds out the top five, with a low unemployment rate and job growth in excess of 3%. And while the cost of living in Austin “is higher than the national average,  the city’s high median income offsets this,” according to Crexi. “Austin is home to many large companies, including Apple, Amazon, Facebook, Google, IBM, and Dell. The city also has a thriving startup scene and is known for its live music and nightlife.” Retail vacancy there I 4.6% and average asking rents are up 11.3% in 2022 year over year.

 Greenville, San Antonio, Des Moines, Fort Lauderdale, and Tampa/St. Petersburg round out the top 10 on Crexi’s ranking.