Charlotte Retail Market Report

Exceptional job creation facilitates historical tightening. Retail fundamentals are on the upswing in Charlotte, thanks to a robust labor market and mild pipeline in recent periods. Local firms added jobs during the yearlong span ending in June at more than twice the pace of the metro's long-term average. These employment gains correlated with vendors absorbing a net of 1.7 million square feet through that frame, which, alongside a record-low completion volume, tightened vacancy by 100 basis points — the largest magnitude in 15 years. Looking forward, Charlotte's relatively small and strongly pre-leased pipeline will likely help facilitate further compression in the near term. Barring any drastic changes to the metro's job market, vacancy should reach a new record-low rate at year-end.