"Retail vacancy inched upward and rents have softened slightly, but demand will remain strong for solid properties," Moyer says. "Construction should slow in response to tighter lending requirements and a general caution in the market regarding retail properties, which should bode well for the long-term health of the retail market."

However, this year's average of $89 per sf follows a "somewhat lackluster year in 2000," according to the report prepared by Marcus & Millichap senior market analyst Frank J. Kupiec.

Besides the lofty $545 per sf paid for the Barney's at 25 E. Oak St., the market has been buoyed by the sale of the popular triple-net-leased Walgreens outlots, ranging from $271 per sf to $372 per sf. Seven sales totaling $31.3 million, or $3.8 million more than the price paid for the 50,488-sf Barney's, have been recorded on the city's Northwest Side as well as the suburbs of Grayslake, Hillside, Lake Villa, Lansing, Libertyville and Lincolnshire.