Northern New Jersey Retail Market Report

Recent demand track record aids regionally strong performance. Three years of consistent declines has granted Northern New Jersey the sixth-lowest retail vacancy rate on the East Coast as of June. The market’s 3.3 percent reading was also 120 basis points below its average level from 2014 to 2019, reflecting strong net absorption that more than doubled openings over the past three years. While that metric will cool slightly this year, move-ins are still occurring across the market. A range of tenants have taken up space since 2023, including several dining establishments, grocers, value retailers and other service providers like UPS. This demand reflects residential patterns, as the market noted 51,000 more occupied apartments in June of this year than at the same point in 2019.