Raleigh-Durham in pretty good shape, retail-wise

A national study that ranked 63 metropolitan areas based on their potential for distressed retail assets placed the Triangle region at No. 45 on the list. This means the Triangle market is less distressed than 44 other markets.

According to Walter Bialas, vice president of research for Madison Marquette and author of the study, retail in the Raleigh-Durham market has been built in more proper scale up until this point, allowing for a much lower vacancy rate than in other markets.

While Triangle Business Journal reported in its fourth quarter SPACE publication that retail vacancy in the Triangle was at 7.7 percent, up from 6.75 percent in the fourth quarter of 2007, Abbitt Goodwin of The Shopping Center Group says that vacancies and closures in our area are actually creating more opportunity for retailers looking for bargain space due to inventory being placed back onto the market.

Triangle Business Journal, February 13, 2009.