Brookings: “Retail emerges as a workhorse for investors.”
Though malls and shopping centers saw traffic dip or were even shuttered during the spread of COVID-19, retail has proved to be the most stable commercial real estate asset throughout the pandemic, according to a report from Brookings.
For the first time in two years, retail real estate has re-emerged as the No. 2 CRE class in the United States, posting a total value of $3.03 trillion in a study done by CoStar that was included in the Brookings evaluation.
Industrial properties finished third at $2.91 trillion, and the office sector came in fourth at $2.43 trillion — some 23% (or $750 billion) less than it was worth in 2019.
Multifamily retained its No.1 standing with a national value of $4.61 trillion, but, like office, that number is the low point of a swan dive from a $6 trillion worth recorded in 2021.
Available supply of retail space at the present time, meanwhile, is nearly non-existent. CoStar currently puts retail’s inventory at a total of 12.11 billion square feet and sets demand for it at 11.61 billion sq. ft. — a nationwide occupancy percentage of nearly 96%.