If you own retail space in Tampa, prepare for a better year.
That's the word from Marcus & Millichap, a commercial real estate brokerage that prepares an annual report on economic prospects in 40 retail markets.
Tampa ranks No. 24, moving up five spaces from last year. The improved standing is based on Tampa's strong residential construction and job growth - all indicators that retail sales will improve in the coming 12 months. The report estimates Tampa's employment will rise by 3 percent over the next year while personal income will increase 4.2 percent. If so, it would mark the best economic performance for the area since 2000.
With more jobs and more money, local residents will be ready to spend and new retailers will be anxious to accommodate them.
The result: Vacancies in retail centers will decline and rents will rise to an average of $16.33 a square foot.
Though Tampa's showing is good, it falls far behind Orange County in Southern California, the nation's hottest spot for retail property.
Then again, the local area is doing a lot better than the city at the bottom of the list. Let's just say the retail market isn't quite up to date in Kansas City, Mo.
