Nashville’s retail sector continues to flourish in the post-pandemic era, fueled by the region’s rapid population growth.
According to a first-quarter report from Colliers, asking lease rates have climbed to $25.29 per square foot NNN – a 4.6 percent increase over the past year and an impressive 33 percent jump since 2020. The Downtown submarket leads the pack, with average rates reaching $42.39 per square foot.
While vacancy ticked up by 10 basis points quarter-over-quarter and 20 basis points year-over-year, the 3.9 percent rate remains under four percent for the 12th straight quarter, Colliers noted.
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Also, net absorption is holding steady in positive territory at 16,000 square feet, a four-fold increase from the previous three months, although still down from the 226,000 square feet a year ago. The bulk of the positive demand in the first quarter was attributed to move-ins that occurred in North Nashville.
Overall, the city is benefiting from population growth, which has increased by 7.9 percent between 2020 and 2024, according to Census data.
"Retail tenants have capitalized on Nashville’s status as one of the fastest-growing metropolitan areas in the nation, as elevated leasing activity has kept availability extremely low," Colliers highlighted.
However, there has been one issue: supply has not kept up with demand in Nashville's retail sector, limiting tenant options — especially for higher-quality products.
That said, the trend might be reversing. There was over 43,000 square feet of new supply in the first quarter, which contributed to a slight rise in the vacancy rate. Moreover, construction has nearly doubled from 12 months ago to 816,000 square feet.
Equinox struck the top lease of the quarter in the market with its 34,000 square feet deal in Downtown. The top sale involved Brentwood Place in Brentwood, which traded for $118.5 million.
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