Mall Vacancies Reach Highest Mark in Decade

Vacancies at U.S. shopping malls climbed to the highest level in at least a decade, according to Reis Inc.’s annual report. The New York-based property-research company reported that regional and super-regional mall vacancies have risen to 9.4 percent—a nearly 1 percent increase from a year earlier. It attributes the U.S. unemployment rate that is depressing consumer confidence, and online stores that draw more customers, to sharply decreasing stores’ revenue.

Commerce Department figures showed that the country’s retail sales unexpectedly stagnated in August, as malls are struggling trying to fill vacancies caused by anchor tenants spurring smaller stores to close or shrink space. “The ongoing lack of demand for retail goods and retail space has not left regional malls unscathed, with tenants considering other retail formats or scaling back on their space requirements,” said Ryan Severino, senior economist at Reis.

However, commercial real estate experts predict that leasing may improve this quarter as clothing and electronics retailers add locations to capture holiday sales and certain businesses try to open before Thanksgiving for the holiday-shopping rush.