The situation, however, is stronger than it was during year-end 2008. "Last year at this time, there was a lot of uncertainty and a lot of tenants contacting landlords to renegotiate rents down. There was a lot of uncertainty about the future, especially after the closings of Circuit City and Linens 'n Things," says James Namken, senior vice president with the Weitzman Group's Houston office.

Though it can't be said "what a difference a year makes," the truth is, things have settled down a little, and uncertainty isn't quite so rampant. "The big concern in 2009 was tenants going out of business," Namken comments. "In 2010, the concern is going to be getting big boxes left vacant in 2009 filled."

[IMGCAP(2)]Jake Baker, retail broker at locally based Riverway Retail says 2010 will continue to be a tenant's market, thanks to vacancies and declining rents. The coming year will be an ideal time for retailers to restructure current leases or to move into more favorable lease terms. Namken agrees, adding that landlords will do what they can to retail tenants, including upping concessions.

Furthermore, the "necessity" tenants and discounters, such as Ross Department Stores and TJ Maxx, should continue to do well. "Cell phone stores are still doing well, and still want to open up new stores," Baker points out. "We're also seeing companies like Edward Jones looking for, and getting good retail space." Edward Jones? Well, yes. "When you start to see your bank account shrinking, you want to start being conservative with your money," Baker says. "This is an ideal place for the Edward Joneses to expand and take a lot of retail space."

Baker and Namken say that another category of tenant expansion is the franchisee. "With the economy so poor, people have been laid off, and are interested in starting their own businesses," Namken explains. "Many of them want to become franchisees. That's where most of the growth has been recently, and will likely continue to be."

Both brokers point out that any changes likely to happen throughout the retail sector will begin during Q3. Baker says by that point, retailers will have a better understanding of where they are in terms of sales. But right now, he acknowledges he's fairly optimistic that good changes will occur by the end of 2010.