Augusta Shopping Center Market Report
Market Overview
The Augusta region’s economy is heavily influenced by government enterprises, with Fort Gordon and the U.S. Army Cyber Center of Excellence serving as the primary employers. There is an opportunity for private-sector employment expansions to offer growth and capitalize on the market. The retail market has shown stable vacancy rates, substantial rent growth and healthy transaction volume as of Q3 2024.
Of the sales in the last 12 months, 135 were general retail transactions, two were trades of strip centers, and 11 were sales of neighborhood centers. Different types of assets have different vacancy rates: malls at 5.4%, neighborhood centers at 6.5%, and power centers at 7.2%.
Augusta by the Numbers
- Vacancy rate: 3.9%
- Rent growth: 4.1%
- Delivered units: 263K
- Absorbed units: 271K
- Sales volume: $152M
Last 12 Months | Source: CoStar Group
Market Performance
The retail market in Augusta has maintained a consistent vacancy rate of 3.9% over the past year, just shy of the three-year average of 4.0%. There has been positive absorption of 270,000 square feet and 260,000 square feet of net deliveries. Rents have increased by 4.1% in the last 12 months and are currently around $16.60 per square foot. Although, the retail market rent has increased 16.0% over the past three years, above the national average of 10.9%. Augusta is expecting approximately 110,000 square feet to be under construction. Additionally, over the last year, there have been 147 sales, totaling approximately $152 million in volume. While in the last three years, Augusta retail has averaged 226 sales per year with $260 million in volume per year.
