We know about all of the renters forced out of foreclosed properties, and all the pets that have been abandoned due to foreclosures, now we have yet another victim of the mortgage crisis; shopping centers.
Vacancies in shopping malls around the country are at a 13 year high. Wherever a new community is built, a shopping center will be built to serve those new customers. When the market turned and the customers didn’t show, these shopping centers were left in the cold. That, combined with plummeting consumer confidence, has led to almost 300 million square-feet of vacant retail space around the country. And some analysts predict that it will only get worse, after a decade of explosive expansion, big retail chains are curtailing expansion, and many are closing existing stores. The International Council of Shopping Centers predicts 5,770 store closings in 2008, a 25% increase over 2007.
This Week’s Real Estate Insight:
Now is a great time to negotiate a great deal on retail space, if you can create a viable business in this economic climate, you will be in incredibe shape when the economy recovers.
Listen to the entire show with Rich Epstein and SteveTetzner
