Retail Insights Q4 2023 – Q1 2024 Essex

In the first quarter of 2024, retail rents in the Essex Market were falling at a pace of -0.3% annually, and during the previous three years, they had experienced an average annual loss of -0.5%. There are 190,000 SF currently under construction in addition to the 590,000 SF that has been supplied over the previous three years (a cumulative inventory expansion of 1.5%). As of 2024Q1, the number of vacancies was roughly in line with the 10-year average and had not changed much over the previous four quarters. Over the previous year, there was a 1.4% growth in total employment. The employment rate over the last five years has increased at an average annual rate of 0.5%, adding 21,000 jobs overall. Over the previous few years, employment has grown at a national average yearly pace of roughly 0.9%. Over the last five years, employment in the retail trade has decreased at an average annual rate of -0.6%, whereas the national average yearly change has been -0.7%. That indicates a total loss of almost -5,000 retail employment throughout that period.