KeyPoint Partners Releases Eastern MA Retail Real Estate Report
Comprehensive study analyzes retail real estate
BURLINGTON, MA (today)—KeyPoint Partners, LLC has released The KeyPoint Report for Eastern Massachusetts/Greater Boston 2017, Bob Sheehan, Vice President of Research, announced today. This comprehensive retail real estate Report examines supply, occupancy, absorption, and retailer expansion and contraction for virtually every retail property in the region.
According to the Report, total retail real estate inventory in the region was 194.6 million square feet, a gain of 854,000 square feet, or 0.4%. The vacancy rate was 8.6%, a modest improvement from 2016. Big Y was the retailer adding the most new space in the region, by way of its acquisition of eight Hannaford locations. The Grocery category led all retail categories in added square footage, with Health & Fitness in second place, led by Life Time Fitness. Department Stores lost the most square footage in the region, contracting by 889,500 square feet.
“It was another trying year for brick-and-mortar retailers and landlords. Amazon and other online retailers have created a sea change in the way people shop. The fallout will continue”, Sheehan says. “We’re also coping with a new generation of millennial shoppers for whom shopping online is the norm. If retailers are unable to offer them a satisfying omnichannel experience, they’ll be unable to retain them”.
“On the bright side, job growth and low unemployment have provided a relatively healthy economy which should result in increased spending potential. We’ve been seeing investors buying distressed property and repurposing for mixed-use, residential, hotel, and other non-retail projects, and developers acquiring antiquated retail centers in quality locations and repositioning them into viable projects”, Sheehan notes.
The KeyPoint Report is based on KeyPoint Partners’ GRIIDTM, a powerful source of retail market knowledge that maintains detailed information on virtually every retail property in key New England markets. The Eastern Massachusetts Report includes 189 cities and towns, representing more than 3,500 square miles (44% of Massachusetts’ land area) and approximately 5 million people (76% of the state population).
The complete KeyPoint Report can be accessed here. The KeyPoint Reports for Southern New Hampshire and Greater Hartford, Connecticut will follow shortly. For more information about KeyPoint Partners’ retail research capabilities and the KeyPoint GRIIDTM contact Bob Sheehan, Vice President of Research, at BSheehan@KeyPointPartners.com or at 781.418.6248.
