Despite rising rents, retail landlords are still willing to negotiate

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Though the city’s retail real estate market has bounced back strongly, landlords are still more willing to negotiate deals with tenants than they were in the past, Andrew Goldberg, executive vice president of CBRE’s New York Tri-State Region Retail Brokerage Services Group, told GlobeSt.com. Goldberg, who was named CBRE’s retail broker of the year last year, said that while they might not come down on rents because of the competitive environment, landlords can be persuaded to upgrade the space or offer money for tenant improvements to the space. However, deals have been taking longer to finalize as a result of these negotiating points.

Meanwhile, the retail market is becoming increasingly tight, especially in established areas, where vacancies are vitrtually non-existent. Goldberg therefore predicted more new construction would come onto the market — not necessarily in the form of new buildings, but in older buildings that are retrofitted to provide retail space and capitalize on growing retail rents.

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Finally, Goldberg put the idea that larger retail spaces are no longer tenable to rest. He noted that while many stores are certainly looking to maximize the efficiency of their space in the face of higher rents, there are still retailers that specifically seek out large spaces, including Uniqlo. Those larger leases often force competitors to up the size of their stores, too, Goldberg said. [GlobeSt]