Chicagoland retail: "slight" of hand

The latest on the retail market is mostly slight: slight increase in vacancy, slight increase in rents, and slightly more total space on the market. The only non-slight change is in the amount of retail under construction: that is down by about 600,000 sf from 11.2 to 10.6 million sf (isn't that about 5%? Maybe that is slight too.)

Some think that even the retail sector is going into the dumpster. I don't...but I'm a veritable Sgt. Schultz in that regard. I think the holiday season numbers will be telling. Unfortunately Traffic Court tells us the numbers are somewhat confusing. The naysayers are saying we in for a very rough ride, but I still think a cheap dollar and good fundamentals may prevail. And even if they are right, the value deals are what to look for anyway.

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