• Gains in consumer sentiment and strong holiday spending brought significant growth in Q4 2017 retail sales.
  • Despite continued retail store closures and rising availability across retail property segments, net absorption remained positive and net asking rents continued to grow.
  • The performance gap between prime and non-prime assets continued to grow across the major retail segments, with vacancies and availability rising for less than Class B assets, and retail demand remaining strong for prime assets.
  • New retail supply is limited, creating opportunities for redevelopment of existing properties.
  • Projections for 2018 are positive, with consumer sentiment and spending expected to see a boost from recently enacted tax reform.