CNSREIT-AR-2024 Final - Flipbook - Page 7
EXHIBIT 2
Declining shopping center supply has helped drive higher occupancy
Shopping center construction and occupancy (‘08–’24)
Net delivered sq. ft.
(LHS, millions)
Occupancy (RHS)
140
120
100
80
60
40
20
0
100%
98%
95.1% 96%
94%
92%
90%
88%
86%
84%
2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
As of December 31, 2024. Source: CoStar. Reflects neighborhood centers, power centers and strip centers.
Data quoted represents past performance, which is no guarantee of future results. The information presented above does not reflect the performance of any fund or other account managed or
serviced by Cohen & Steers, and there is no guarantee that investors will experience the type of performance reflected above. There is no guarantee that any historical trend illustrated above will be repeated
in the future, and there is no way to predict precisely when such a trend will begin. The views and opinions above are as of the date of this publication and are subject to change without notice.
Meanwhile, the U.S. economy continued to grow, and U.S. consumers
did not lose their penchant for consumption. Retail sales grew reliably
at 3% annually even as store growth, as measured by net square
footage, remained less than 1% for more than a decade.
Critically, what did not kill the most adaptable and well-managed
retailers made them stronger. They didn’t just survive the apocalypse.
They adapted. Those retailers are thriving today.
Grocery stores, the largest component of brick-and-mortar retail, have
proven to be irreplaceable by warehouse distribution. Omni-channel
retailing, with physical stores supporting online order ful昀椀llment, is the
new reality. Beauty services, 昀椀tness centers, medical services,
restaurants and co昀昀ee shops are almost internet-proof.
Shopping centers are the most highly occupied of any major
commercial property type. And a resurgence in new retail construction
is a long way o昀昀. As a result, open-air shopping centers are the only
major property type with accelerating rental rate growth.
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