Quote:
Originally Posted by Obadno
Lol compared to when? Are you too young to remember vacancy rates back in 2009?
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The retail meltdown was not so obvious in 2009. Shopping centers even in vibrant places like Austin are hollowing out, not just indoor malls but also large neighborhood strip malls and super centers. I can't imagine what it must be like in cities already struggling with weak economic performance. Add a real recession to that mix, and you have the makings of a commercial real estate bust. In cities or metros with growing populations, one alternative would be to tear down that vacant K-mart or whatever and use the well located real estate for housing or mixed use of some kind. Here in Austin lot of strip shopping along certain corridors have already given way to large four and five story apartment houses. Most try to have some sort of ground floor retail, but many of the tenants tend to be small businesses rather than retail. We have also converted one large inner city shopping mall(Highland Mall) into the flagship campus for Austin Community College and added a lot of housing to the mix. I expect to see more of that going forward as long as the local economy supports the housing market.