Baltimore Retail Market Report

Stable performance complicated by Federal budget cuts. Retail supply additions fall this year to the lowest level since at least 2007, with projects delivering in 2025 distributed across suburbs south and west of the city. Aiding demand, the metro recorded its largest net population gain in over two decades last year. Ongoing efforts to reduce Federal employment may blunt this benefit to some degree, however, as these moves have implications for government offices and nearby retailers downtown and in Woodlawn. If funding for government contractors is also constricted, it could affect submarkets southwest of the city toward D.C. Despite these headwinds, overall retail vacancy is expected to hold between 5.5 percent and 5.6 percent again this year — a pattern that began in 2022. Single-tenant properties saw strong net absorption late last year, signaling leasing momentum heading into 2025.