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Houston Retail Ends '18 on High

Published Jan 13, 2019 by A.J. Mistretta

Houston retail ended 2018 with historically high occupancy with millions of square feet of new inventory set to come online in the year ahead.

The Houston retail market finished out 2018 94.9 percent occupied, according to research from CBRE. The Houston Business Journal reports the occupancy rate has been on a steady climb since 2017 year is now the highest it’s been since at least 2008.

The increase comes despite significant closures across the area from big brands like Sears, Toys “R” Us and Randall’s.

Roughly 3.7 million square feet of new retail product will be under construction in 2019, according to the CBRE report.

Retail sales in the Houston region hit a three-year high of $123.2 billion in the four quarters that ended Q1 2018, according to the Partnership’s year-end Houston Economic Highlights report. Sales have increased steadily since Q4 of 2016. The Partnership’s Employment Forecast anticipates the region will add 5,600 retail jobs in 2019.

Read more from the HBJ report, Houston Economic Highlights and the Employment Forecast.

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