At the end of the third quarter, the vacancy rate for retail space was 6.77%, up only slightly from the second quarter, according to a new survey by the Phoenix office of CB Richard Ellis. Exclude the regional malls and the rate goes to 7.38%. "Surprisingly, we look OK," says Judi Butterworth, a CB Richard Ellis broker in Phoenix. "That's still a good vacancy rate."

The strongest Q3 market was the north Scottsdale area, Butterworth says. "North Scottsdale has just been on fire," she says. "If they are even remotely high-end, they have to be in Scottsdale." Scottsdale's vacancy is 4.16%, the lowest of any submarket in the Valley.

The poorest performing submarket is northwest Phoenix, which posted a 10.18% vacancy. The area has 75 centers, many of which are older or in neighborhoods in transition, says Butterworth.