Q4 Fort Lauderdale Retail Market Report
Market Overview
Fort Lauderdale’s retail market reflects a complex landscape influenced by strong household and income growth, tourism, and construction activity. Leasing activity has slowed down, with a decrease in the amount of space leased compared to previous years. However, positive net absorption has contributed to a decline in vacancies, which are currently lower than the five-year average. Given that tenant departures are staying at or below the historical average over the long term and with only a limited increase in available properties, the vacancy rate is anticipated to continue to be low for the next several years.
Market Performance
The yearly net absorption continues to show positive trends, with 870,000 square feet absorbed as of Q4 2023, exceeding the five year average annual absorption rate of 490,000 square feet. Vacancies are expected to remain tight, increasing by less than 0.5% for the majority of submarkets and 0.2% in Fort Lauderdale as a whole until the end of 2025. Fort Lauderdale has the third highest retail rents in Florida, at $34.00 per square foot as of Q4 2023. Fort Lauderdale’s construction of new retail space is constrained, with a significant decline in construction starts since 2019. Nevertheless, there are presently 507,910 square feet of retail space underway, and 260,000 square feet have been delivered in the last year.
The pace of transactions have decelerated, totaling $738 million sales volume over the last 12 months. In contrast, the first three quarters of 2022 saw a trading volume that surpassed $1.2 billion.
Fort Lauderdale By The Numbers | Last 12 Months | Source: CoStar Group
- Vacancy Rate: 3.4%
- Rent Growth: 5.5%
- Deliveries SF: 260K
- Absorption SF: 870K
- Sales Volume: $738M
To view the Q3 Fort Lauderdale Retail Market Report, please click here.
