One of the biggest trends in commercial real estate over the past year has been investors’ increasing interest in secondary and tertiary markets, as properties in gateway cities such as New York and San Francisco have assumed astronomical price tags. It turns out, however, that at least when it comes to retail real estate, those price tags make perfect sense—the gateway cities are so expensive because they continue to boast the lowest vacancy levels and highest rents in the country, along with the most active investment sales marketplaces. And in many of these cities, the amount of new retail construction coming on-line in the near future is scant, meaning that existing shopping centers and malls will face limited competition. Turns out in retail real estate, you get what you pay for.
To learn which cities made the Top 10 Retail Markets in the U.S. in 2014, take a look at our gallery. We based the rankings on research from brokerage firms Cushman & Wakefield and Marcus & Millichap Investment Services and research firm Real Capital Analytics.