Suburban retail in Raleigh-Durham has thrived post covid

– Urban retail has struggled post covid when compared to suburban retail. Despite an 18% higher premium for NNN average asking rental rates, urban retail space has a vacancy rate over twice that of suburban retail.

– This trend began in 2022 when both urban and suburban retail space had reached a vacancy of 4%. Since that time, urban retail has experienced more vacancy (rising to 4.4% in Q1 2024), while suburban vacancy has dropped significantly to 1.9%.

– Suburban NNN asking rental rates have risen 15.5% since Q4 of 2022, while urban rental rates have only risen 4% in the same period.