Local Shopping Center Market Sends Mixed Signals According to Recent MPC Report

While the national economy is showing signs of improvement with dropping unemployment rates and growing consumer confidence, the Knox County shopping center market is sending mixed signals about its health. Since 2008 the county has seen a 7.9 percent gain in the inventory of retail space, indicating that shopping centers are being built. During the same period, however, vacant space grew to nearly 13 percent, showing that a lot of supply remains unoccupied.

Details of the national and local retail markets are available in MPC's latest publication, Shopping Center Market Analysis for Knoxville and Knox County, 2012. Along with areawide market data, the report offers insights into seven sub-markets, including Bearden, Broadway, South Knoxville, and others. It also gives detailed listings of more than 200 local shopping centers, reporting on gross leasable space, vacancy rates, rent ranges, anchor stores, contact information, and more.

"The Shopping Center report is used by a wide audience," says MPC Research Associate and lead author of the report, Bryan Berry. "Retailers looking for space to lease, developers considering investment in our economy, and officials planning for the area's future all benefit from this information."

Market details provided in the study came from mail and phone surveys of property managers, and follow-up information was gathered from on-site inspections.

From the time surveys are mailed until the final report is published, it takes about six months to produce a market analysis. MPC publishes four distinct property market studies, so Berry is almost constantly working on one. In addition to the shopping center market, MPC reports on the local office market, published yearly, and the hotel/motel and industrial markets, each published biennially.

The Executive Summaryof each report is available online. Full reports including national, local, and sub-market analysis, as well as center-by-center details, may be purchased by contacting Bryan Berry at 215-2500 or bryan.berry@knoxmpc.org. Paper copies are $75. Electronic copies are $50.

Posted 9-19-2012, written by Sarah Powell