Marin Retail: nothing much happening here...

Credit to the North Bay Business Journal for making the effort to report on the state of Marin's retail market. The content was not that exciting, but did include some dry real estate statistics and commentary. Let's interpret:

"Vacancies rise modestly". The vacancy rate in Marin shopping centers increased from 4.0% in 2007 to 6.2% in 2008. So the amount of vacant store space increased by more than 50%. Modest increase? No. But we're still way below the national average of approx. 10%

Average asking rental rates in the county are approx. $28 per sq.ft NNN, and are highger in the south of the county ($36 per sq.ft) than the north ($25 per sq.ft).

"Both Whole Foods and Trader Joes set to add stores in 2009". But don't form a line at the door just yet. The last time I looked, the Novato Whole Foods was not expected to open until spring 2010. And in this economic climate I would be surprised to see any activity at the sites acquired by Whole Foods in Mill Valley and Trader Joes in Larkspur.