The Best Cities to Buy Retail Property in 2026

Heading into 2026, the U.S. retail sector is faced with a mix of caution and confidence - an environment shaped by shifting consumer behavior, evolving tenant mixes, and record-low levels of new development. 

Compared to last year’s optimism, ULI and PwC’s Emerging Trends in Real Estate 2026 proposes that the retail industry is entering 2026 with a more grounded outlook. Industry surveys show that most operators and landlords aren’t pessimistic, they’re simply navigating a higher level of economic uncertainty than usual. Even so, the sector’s performance over the past few years has reinforced a basic truth: well-located retail and strong shopping centers continue to outperform even through mixed market conditions.

Despite a rising wave of bankruptcies and thousands of store closures, the past two years showed that demand simply shifted. Nontraditional tenants like restaurants, fitness concepts, medical users, small-format grocers, and discount/value operators stepped in to fill the gaps left by legacy chains. Limited retail construction kept supply tight, helping shopping centers absorb closures even as national vacancy edged higher. And while absorption turned negative through parts of 2025, rent growth stayed positive, especially for small-shop space and well-located neighborhood centers.

Against that backdrop, investors are watching retail real estate trends in 2026 with a more strategic lens and focusing on markets with strong shopping-center performance. Concerns over tariffs, consumer austerity, and construction costs are real, but so are the opportunities: redevelopment of shuttered drugstores, expanding value and grocery concepts, and steady demand for open-air centers and daily-needs retail.

This report highlights the best cities to buy retail property in 2026, based on fundamentals, investor activity, and real-time shopping-center performance. With this guide in hand, investors can be ready to spot where the future of retail property investment is taking shape and where the next wave of retail property deals is most likely to unfold.

Methodology: How We Picked Our Retail List

We identified the top 10 retail real estate markets for 2026  using real-time investor demand data from Crexi, including year-over-year lead growth and total activity across metros. Markets were chosen based on rising investor engagement, improving fundamentals such as vacancy and absorption, and pricing trends that offer value relative to replacement cost.

10 Top Cities for Retail Investing in 2026

Here are the top 10 best cities for retail real estate, according to insights from Emerging Trends in Real Estate 2026 by the Urban Land Institute and PwC, the U.S. Shopping Center Reports from Cushman & Wakefield, and other industry sources.

Commercial real estate statistics are from Crexi Intelligence as of November 2025. By leveraging Crexi, users can instantly analyze retail market trends and review retail properties for sale or lease. The detailed database of sales comparables, retail industry reports, in-depth analytics, and demographic data enables instant evaluation in today's continually evolving retail market landscape.

1. Orlando, FL

As one of the best cities to buy retail property in 2026, Orlando’s retail market trends check all the boxes: tourism-driven activity, resilient local spending, and consistently low vacancy.

At the end of Q3 2025, Orlando’s overall retail vacancy rate stood at 3.8%, with less than 6.0 million square feet of vacant inventory across the metro. Leasing activity has also picked up: more than 2.9 million square feet had been leased year-to-date, up roughly 18.4% versus last year.

Going into 2026, the retail property outlook for Orlando reflects a market where investor demand is clearly focused and competitive. Nearly $4.0 billion in retail assets have traded over the past three years, placing the metro among the top 15 U.S. markets for investment activity. Notably, the $165 million sale of Winter Garden Village in the SW Orange Outlying submarket underscored the value premium for well-located, grocery-anchored retail centers. 

Nearly 70% of Q3 investment volume came from freestanding retail and power centers, while traditional malls captured only $31.4 million of activity. This highlights how demand is shifting toward open-air centers and grocery-anchored shopping centers, rather than enclosed malls.

Crexi Intelligence Orlando Retail Trends

For Lease (active)

• Asking rate/SqFt (median): $24 per year
• Median SqFt/listing: 2,472
• Days on market:  165
• Total listings on Crexi: 443

For Sale (active)

• Median asking price: $2.9 million
• Price/SqFt: $404
• Days on market: 135
• Total listings on Crexi: 120  

Sales Comps (past 12 months)

• Median sold price: $1.5 million
• Sold price/SqFt: $304
• Total sales volume: $852.7 million
• Sold cap rate: 4.2%
• Median SqFt sold/transaction: 5,240
• Days on market (median): 191

2. Charlotte, NC

Charlotte has quietly become one of the top retail markets in the U.S. for shopping-center investment, with tight vacancy and strong neighborhood demand driving its appeal to investors in 2026.

Vacancy across the metro sat at roughly 2.8% at the end of Q2 2025, with most sub-10,000-square-foot spaces effectively spoken for. Southern submarkets such as the Southwest, Inner Southeast, and South End are doing much of the heavy lifting, powered by steady leasing by fitness concepts, restaurants, and other experience-driven operators. That tenant mix lines up with retail foot-traffic trends showing year-over-year gains in visits for categories like fitness, furniture/home furnishings, and restaurants in the Charlotte area.

On the investment side, Charlotte’s outlook is driven by grocery-anchored shopping center development and selective open-air retail acquisitions. Publix, Harris Teeter, and the region’s first Wegmans account for roughly half of the metro’s current retail construction pipeline, reinforcing how necessity-based anchors continue to set the tone. 

At the same time, capital is flowing into established centers: in nearby Cotswold, Asana Partners’ $110.4 million acquisition of the Harris Teeter-anchored Cotswold Village shopping center is now being followed by new residential and a Sycamore Brewing beer garden. This deal is the perfect example of the layering of food, beverage, and experiential uses into high-performing open-air shopping center investments in Charlotte.

Crexi Intelligence Charlotte Retail Trends

For Lease (active)

• Asking rate/SqFt (median): $25 per year
• Median SqFt/listing: 2,605
• Days on market: 137
• Total listings on Crexi: 559

For Sale (active)

• Median asking price: $2.5 million
• Price/SqFt: $499
• Days on market: 152
• Total listings on Crexi: 92

Sales Comps (past 12 months)

• Median sold price: $2.4 million
• Sold price/SqFt: $358 
• Total sales volume: $242.2 million 
• Sold cap rate: 6.2%
• Median SqFt sold/transaction: 5,600 
• Days on market (median): 252

3. Houston, TX

Houston stands out because its retail market and shopping centers continue adding tenants and new development, even as many metros slow down.

In Q3 2025, net absorption in the metro surged to 838,910 square feet, up 63.7% from the previous quarter and 51.8% year-over-year, as tenant demand outpaced new supply for the first time since 2023. The overall vacancy rate held near 5.8%, demonstrating how tight conditions remain even as millions of square feet of new construction continues across the region. Developers are seeing this and pivoting: rather than big-box power centers alone, growth is now concentrated in mixed-use, neighborhood-serving retail centers in high-growth suburbs.

Notable moves include the recent acquisition of a 300,000-square-foot retail site near CityCentre by MetroNational, partnering with Radom Capital to create an experiential destination in the Memorial/CityCentre corridor. Another signal: the recent sale of a 29,475-square-foot retail center, representing strong demand at the smaller-shop scale. 

In the big picture, Houston’s retail property outlook points toward sustainable opportunity defined by reliable demand, selective new development, and solid performance across its strongest submarkets.

Crexi Intelligence Houston Retail Trends

For Lease (active)

• Asking rate/SqFt (median): $22 
• Median SqFt/listing: 2,370
• Days on market: 280
• Total listings on Crexi: 2,802

For Sale (active)

• Median asking price: $2.2 million 
• Price/SqFt: $298 
• Days on market: 134
• Total listings on Crexi: 564  

Sales Comps (past 12 months)

• Median sold price: $1.4 million
• Sold price/SqFt: $229
• Total sales volume: $4.4 billion
• Sold cap rate: 7.1%
• Median SqFt sold/transaction: 4,860
• Days on market (median): 245

4. Richmond, VA

Tight vacancy, strong grocery-anchored development, and large mixed-use projects keep Richmond on any shortlist of the best shopping-center markets in 2026. Overall retail vacancy sat near 3.1% in Q3 2025 amid limited new supply and healthy leasing, with 1.6 million square feet signed.

Capital is following that stability. West Broad Marketplace (a Wegmans-anchored center totalling about 386,000 square feet) traded to InvenTrust Properties for $86M, signaling appetite for scale in top suburban nodes. At the same time, the Diamond District is moving forward ahead of the new CarMax Park ballpark opening in April 2026, with retail and hospitality preleasing tied to a broader neighborhood plan.

The pipeline skews to grocery-anchored, open-air formats - think Whole Foods at Midlothian Depot and supermarket-led mixed-use - while regional corporate investment (including Google’s multibillion-dollar Virginia expansion) supports long-term consumer spending. On Crexi, Richmond retail listings have seen 17% YoY lead growth, aligning with what we’re seeing on the ground: disciplined new supply, active tenants, and investor focus on well-located shopping centers and urban retail redevelopment.

Crexi Intelligence Richmond Retail Trends

For Lease (active)

• Asking rate/SqFt (median): $22 per year
• Median SqFt/listing: 2,633
• Days on market: 245 
• Total listings on Crexi: 387

For Sale (active)

• Median asking price: $1 million
• Price/SqFt: $302
• Days on market: 132
• Total listings on Crexi: 65  

Sales Comps (past 12 months)

• Median sold price: $515,000 
• Sold price/SqFt: $281 
• Total sales volume: $153.9 million
• Median SqFt sold/transaction: 2,557
• Days on market (median): 283

5. Atlanta, GA

The Atlanta retail real estate market is showing real opportunity for shopping-center and retail property investors who prioritize adaptability and growth in the right locations.

Metro Atlanta added more than 64,000 residents between 2024 and 2025, bringing the total population close to 6.5 million and well outpacing national growth rates. At the same time, Class A asking rents rose to $33.70 per square foot, up 2.1% year-over-year, signaling that premium space continues to command interest despite shifting economic pressures. One standout recent transaction: the $82.3 million sale of Georgia Crossing, a 317,301-square-foot power center in Buford across from the Mall of Georgia, demonstrates how capital is still flowing into top retail corridors. 

What’s driving the opportunity in Atlanta is its pivot toward redevelopment and flexible shopping-center formats , like suburban town-centers with mixed uses, sites anchored by restaurants, and the layering of non-merchant retail categories like fitness, med-spa and dining. With new retail construction constrained (only about 75,000 square feet currently under way), the 2026 retail property outlook in Atlanta increasingly favors assets with strong traffic, fundamentals and relevance.

Crexi Intelligence Atlanta Retail Trends

For Lease (active)

• Asking rate/SqFt (median): $30 per year 
• Median SqFt/listing: 2,287 
• Days on market: 230
• Total listings on Crexi: 525 

For Sale (active)

• Median asking price: $860,000 
• Price/SqFt: $272
• Days on market: 154
• Total listings on Crexi: 183 

Sales Comps (past 12 months)

• Median sold price: $608,500  
• Sold price/SqFt: $217 
• Total sales volume: $200.8 million 
• Median SqFt sold/transaction: 3,382
• Days on market (median): 219

6. Nashville, TN

Few Southeast metros match Nashville’s consumer growth and tight retail vacancy, making it a competitive market for retail investors.

The metro’s population grew more than 6% since 2020, outpacing national averages and feeding stronger consumer-spending trends in retail. At the same time, the vacancy rate for retail space in Q2 2025 landed around 3.7%, indicating extremely constrained availability in a market where more than half of the stock was built before 1990.

With supply held in check and demand remaining solid, rising retail rental rates have climbed about 4.8% year-over-year, to roughly $27.94 per square foot at the end of Q2. The constrained pipeline (only about 98,763 sq ft of new supply in Q2) reinforces the advantage for assets in strong locations that can capture traffic and experience-driven formats.

That said, the low-vacancy, high-demand environment poses a challenge. Identifying quality retail sites, particularly those that can be repositioned or offer alternate uses, will be critical to realize upside. But in a market like Nashville’s where landlords maintain pricing power and consumers continue to gravitate toward convenience-driven and experience-oriented shopping centers, the outlook for 2026 is favorable for investors who seek stable fundamentals paired with strategic flexibility.

Crexi Intelligence Nashville Retail Trends

For Lease (active)

• Asking rate/SqFt (median): $24 per year 
• Median SqFt/listing: 2,182
• Days on market: 192 
• Total listings on Crexi: 381

For Sale (active)

• Median asking price: $2.1 million
• Price/SqFt: $600
• Days on market: 133
• Total listings on Crexi: 88 

Sales Comps (past 12 months)

• Median sold price: $1.5 million 
• Sold price/SqFt: $360 
• Total sales volume: $510.4 million 
• Sold cap rate: 5.4%
• Median SqFt sold/transaction: 3,712 
• Days on market (median): 137

7. Columbus, OH

Columbus continues to distinguish itself among Midwest retail CRE markets, thanks to steady consumer demand and a development pipeline concentrated in fast-growing suburban corridors. 

Vacancy held firm through Q3 despite slightly negative absorption, underscoring how little quality space is available across the metro. Even with construction slowing as several major projects delivered, tenant interest hasn’t eased.  Neighborhoods like Powell, Hilliard, and Canal Winchester are seeing household growth and daily-needs retail activity.

Leasing was led by Ohio Thrift Stores’ 42,327-square-foot deal in the Delaware submarket, a reminder that large-format users still compete actively for well-located sites. Investment activity also picked up, with about $127 million in retail sales recorded in Q3. One notable trade: ASB Property Management’s $13.6 million acquisition of MedVet Hilliard points to sustained appetite for service-anchored and medically oriented retail assets.

For investors, the path forward in Columbus increasingly lies in assets that meet neighborhood-serving needs, offer room for tenant mix evolution, or sit within high-growth suburban communities where demand continues to outpace modern inventory

Crexi Intelligence Columbus Retail Trends

For Lease (active)

• Asking rate/SqFt (median): $19 per year
• Median SqFt/listing: 2,954 
• Days on market: 224 
• Total listings on Crexi: 661 

For Sale (active)

• Median asking price: $1.3 million
• Price/SqFt: $207
• Days on market: 140 
• Total listings on Crexi: 138 

Sales Comps (past 12 months)

• Median sold price: $800,000  
• Sold price/SqFt: $146 
• Total sales volume: $320.5 million 
• Sold cap rate: 7% 
• Median SqFt sold/transaction: 4,542 
• Days on market (median): 209

8. Washington D.C./DMV Area

The Washington, D.C./DMV region stands out as one of the best retail markets in the U.S. for 2026 because its market has managed to stay tight and balanced even as conditions have shifted nationally.

Strength in the suburbs, particularly Northern Virginia and key pockets of Suburban Maryland,  continues to anchor performance, with household growth, high incomes, and stable day-to-day spending supporting demand across multiple retail categories. Asking rents reached a record $34 per square foot in Q3, and availability remains near its lowest point in more than a decade.

On the investment side, the region logged roughly $1.8 billion in retail transactions over the past year, highlighted by trades like the $52 million sale of Fairfax Court in Virginia. Grocery-anchored shopping centers continue to attract competitive bidding, particularly in markets where turnover is rare.

New development is limited and highly targeted. With about 774,000 square feet under construction (most of it preleased), supply overhang remains minimal. Suburban Maryland and Northern Virginia dominate the pipeline, reflecting where vacancy rates in retail real estate are tightest. Combined, these dynamics point to a region that offers meaningful stability for investors focused on well-located, necessity-oriented retail.

Crexi Intelligence Washington DC Retail Trends

For Lease (active)

• Asking rate/SqFt (median): $39
• Median SqFt/listing: 2,396 
• Days on market: 495
• Total listings on Crexi: 432 

For Sale (active)

• Median asking price: $1.9 million
• Price/SqFt: $538 
• Days on market: 195 
• Total listings on Crexi: 72

Sales Comps (past 12 months)

• Median sold price: $1.5 million  
• Sold price/SqFt: $382 
• Total sales volume: $129.7 million  
• Sold cap rate: 7.7%
• Median SqFt sold/transaction: 4,123 
• Days on market (median): 216

9. Chicago, IL

Chicago’s retail market is showing a steadiness that stands out in a year when other major metros are still recalibrating, with resilient suburban demand and consistent investor activity shaping  healthy outlook for 2026. Even with leasing activity slowing  down, the metro’s breadth and diverse economic base continue to support day-to-day consumer spending. On Crexi, local retail listings averaged 24 leads per property, highlighting ongoing interest from both tenants and buyers.

Availability has inched up to roughly 5.6%, driven largely by big-box move-outs and higher vacancies in the Central Business District. But performance varies meaningfully by submarket. North DuPage and Schaumburg remain standouts, posting around 2% annual rent growth and benefiting from strong traffic patterns, tight supply, and minimal new development. 

Investment activity in Chicago’s retail and shopping-center market remains solid compared to national trends.  Over the past year, Chicago recorded approximately $3.1 billion in retail sales, with private buyers dominating and many deals focused on smaller suburban centers with strong fundamentals. With construction accounting for just 0.2% of total inventory - well below the national average - the market’s constrained pipeline is helping stabilize pricing and positioning well-located assets for long-term performance.

Crexi Intelligence Chicago Retail Trends

For Lease (active)

• Asking rate/SqFt (median): $26 per year
• Median SqFt/listing: 2,088 
• Days on market: 250 
• Total listings on Crexi: 1,897

For Sale (active)

• Median asking price: $724,900  
• Price/SqFt: $212 
• Days on market: 139 
• Total listings on Crexi: 808 

Sales Comps (past 12 months)

• Median sold price: $460,700
• Sold price/SqFt: $112
• Total sales volume: $1.3 billion 
• Sold cap rate: 7.9%
• Median SqFt sold/transaction: 3,076
• Days on market (median): 310

10. San Francisco, CA 

San Francisco enters 2026 with real signs of retail market recovery, driven by renewed downtown investment and a consumer base that continues to spend at some of the highest levels in the country. 

Retail sales rose more than 4% year over year, supported by job growth in tech and AI, rising apartment rents, and a median household income now above $140,000. Activity on the Crexi platform reflects this momentum as well, with local retail listings seeing a 10% year-over-year increase in buyer activity, even as pricing remains among the most expensive in the nation.

Leasing has picked up across both downtown and neighborhood corridors, highlighted by openings such as Ross Dress for Less on Market Street, Apple Cinemas at 1000 Van Ness, and new dining concepts at the Ferry Building and Mission Rock. Union Square is also showing early signs of stabilization. Vacancy there ticked down for the first time in several years, aided by new additions and several activations through the city’s “Vacant to Vibrant” initiative. Premium ground-floor rents have inched upward as foot traffic continues to climb.

Investment activity remains active in San Francisco’s retail and shopping-center market, especially around Union Square.  Recent trades totaled nearly $59 million in Q3 alone, signaling that well-located assets with strong tourism or daytime population potential are drawing investor interest again. While challenges remain, particularly around larger vacancies returning to the market, San Francisco’s mix of improving demand drivers and targeted revitalization efforts points to a market that is gaining serious traction.

Crexi Intelligence San Francisco Retail Trends

For Lease (active)

• Asking rate/SqFt (median): $33 per year
• Median SqFt/listing: 1,977 
• Days on market: 259
• Total listings on Crexi: 528 

For Sale (active)

• Median asking price: $2 million  
• Price/SqFt: $458
• Days on market: 162
• Total listings on Crexi: 109  

Sales Comps (past 12 months)

• Median sold price: $1.4 million 
• Sold price/SqFt: $658 
• Total sales volume: $539.2 million
• Sold cap rate: 8%
• Median SqFt sold/transaction: 2,281 
• Days on market (median): 248

Final Thoughts

As national retail fundamentals adjust to slower leasing and shifting consumer behavior, the best shopping-center and retail markets in 2026 share similar traits.  

Even against a backdrop of tariff uncertainty, modest rent growth, and a more cautious consumer, many metros continue to benefit from historically low vacancy, strong neighborhood-level traffic, and tenants that remain committed to right-sized, experience-oriented footprints. The cities highlighted in this report reflect those conditions: markets where supply constraints, income growth, and targeted redevelopment efforts help insulate performance despite broader headwinds. 

Looking ahead, investors who stay focused on tight-vacancy shopping centers, necessity-driven retail, and durable demographics will be best positioned to navigate a national environment that is steady but more selective - and capitalize on opportunities as demand gradually firms through late 2026.

Get more retail property data at your fingertips with Crexi Intelligence.