The Marin County retail shopping centers market ended 2007 in a healthy state, with a vacancy rate of 5.2%. Vacancy was more than a full percentage point higher than year-end 2006, when it stood at 4.0%. The annual average asking rental rate was $30.21 per square foot (NNN) at year-end 2007. The total gross leasable area (GLA) of all retail centers in Marin County, excluding malls, is approximately 3.6 million square feet in 36 retail centers.
The bulk of the retail center inventory lies within the neighborhood center category, which accounts for 37% (1.3 million square feet) of the total GLA. The next highest inventory contributors are power and community centers, at 773,250 and 650,142 square feet, respectively. Total availability across all retail centers, excluding malls, amounted to just 190,725 square feet, comprised entirely of shop spaces.
The Marin County retail centers market is divided into three submarkets: Southern, Central and Northern. The total GLA square footage in these submarkets is 675,630 (Southern), 1.1 million (Central) and 1.9 million (Northern). The vacancy rates for each submarket differed slightly, closing year-end 2007 at 6.0%, 2.1% and 6.8%, respectively.
The top-tier average asking rental rates were $1.47 apart for Southern and Central Marin County, which ended 2007 at $35.98 and $34.51 per square foot (NNN), respectively, while Northern Marin recorded a much lower average asking rate of $27.63 (due, in part, to the diversity of property type in this submarket). Average asking rates for the entire county ranged from a low of $12 to as much as $45 per square foot (NNN) annually.
