Atlanta’s retail market continues to tighten

– Pre-pandemic, Atlanta’s retail market historically presented a decline in availability along with climbing rental rates. Once the pandemic hit in 2020, availability jumped to 12.8 msf, a 9.4% increase from 2019.

– Retail leasing surged in 2022 causing vacancy rates to drop to 5.3% a 19.7% decrease YOY and rental rates increasing nearly 22% YOY with activity remaining steady through 2024 so far.

– Given Atlanta’s high occupancy, especially within the market’s most active and desirable areas, space remains limited. Tenants are having to compete for advantageous locations and landlords are receiving multiple LOI’s for the same space. Development activity for pure retail space is currently non-existent as mixed-use developments have been the focus for developers. Within these newer developments, the offered ground-level retail continues to be leased-up at a fast pace.