Kansas City Retail Market Report

Kansas City exhibits high growth among regional markets. As the metro continues to see a tightening unemployment rate, 40 basis points below the national level at 3.2 percent in March, retail sales remain elevated with an estimated 20.3 percent year-over-year increase. Consumer spending is bolstered by rising median household incomes in Kansas City, ranking as one of the highest and fastest growing among major Midwestern markets in this metric. A stronger consumer base is driving demand for space by vendors. Net absorption nearly totaled 1.9 million square feet over the past five quarters, which dropped metro vacancy by 110 basis points to 5.5 percent. This rate is already below the past decade average, and availability should remain equally tight in the coming quarters as demand aligns with new supply.