JACKSONVILLE RETAIL PROPERTY OWNERS
CHALLENGED BY SOFT LABOR MARKET

JACKSONVILLE, Fla., March 15, 2010 – Retail property owners in Jacksonville will continue to face challenges this year as the soft labor market suppresses spending and decreases store traffic, according to the 2010 National Retail Report by Marcus & Millichap, the nation’s largest real estate investment services firm. As a result, marketwide vacancy will climb to the low 12 percent range, while effective rents will fall to a level last recorded in 2003.

“Well-located and soundly performing properties are beginning to attract inquiries, signaling that investors are responding to opportunities to acquire previously unavailable assets,” says Richard Matricaria, regional manager of Marcus & Millichap’s Jacksonville office.

Following are some of the most significant aspects of the Jacksonville Retail Research Report:

• Local employers will cut 3,000 workers in 2010, a 0.5 percent decline. Last year, 15,400 jobs were eliminated.
• Retail property stock will expand only 0.6 percent this year with the completion of 300,000 square feet. Developers brought online 700,000 square feet in 2009.
• The lingering effects of the recession will underpin a100 basis point jump in the vacancy rate to 12.3 percent in 2010. Negative net absorption will total 260,000 square feet.
• Following a 5.9 percent drop in 2009, asking rents will decrease 3.4 percent this year to $14.12 per square foot. Effective rents will fall 5.3 percent to $11.42 per square foot, after a 10.3 percent dip last year.

Also included in the report is the firm’s annual National Retail Index (NRI), a snapshot analysis that ranks 44 retail markets based on a series of 12-month forward-looking supply and demand indicators. Jacksonville moves up one place this year to No. 43. Washington, D.C., claimed the top spot in this year’s National Retail Index (NRI) for the second year in a row due to a low vacancy rate and healthy job growth. Projected job gains boosted San Diego one place to No. 2 and a lack of significant construction in recent years moved San Francisco up one notch to No. 3. Forecasted job growth elevated New York City four places to No. 4 and continued layoffs dropped New Jersey three places to No. 5, despite low vacancy and the state’s relatively steady economy.

For a copy of Marcus & Millichap’s National Retail Report and the complete NRI rankings, visit www.MarcusMillichap.com.

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