RETAIL MARKET OVERVIEW

ROBERT ELMER, Managing Principal

Retail in Greater Boston continues its rebound, with pockets doing extremely well. The supply constrained environment has kept vacancy below 3% resulting in upward pressure on rents despite lingering uncertainty, especially in the urban core where office occupancy is still well below pre-pandemic levels. Nonetheless, Dicks Sporting Goods’ recent lease of ~120,000 SF in the Prudential Center’s former Lord & Taylor space is a good sign for downtown retail. While average leasing rates across Greater Boston have yet to reach pre-pandemic levels, sales have set a record-breaking pace. Given the current interest rate environment, sales are not expected to keep up with this recent record sales volume of $3.3 billion over the prior 12 months.