Miami-Dade County's retail sector is seeing some disruption, from weaker demand to free-falling rents.
For one, net absorption flipped to negative territory at -381,000 square feet in the first quarter compared with the +97,400 square feet in the same period a year ago.
Another issue is rising vacancy, which climbed by 60 basis points year-over-year to 3.3 percent, which was sparked by the weak demand, according to Colliers.
As the market recalibrates, asking rents plummeted by 8.5 percent to $41.28 per square foot NNN.
From a retail sales standpoint, Colliers described Miami's environment as "steady," with Volta Global making the largest buy by volume with its $23.18 million acquisition of 104,532 square foot, Westland Shopping Plaza.
"Retail investment activity remained steady, reflecting continued investor interest in well‑located centers despite near‑term vacancy pressure and ongoing market recalibration," Colliers said.
Almost 538,000 square feet of leasing volume occurred during the first three months of 2026, with Colliers referring to the tenant appetite as "active." This is partially why the CRE brokerage is bullish about conditions improving over the short term. In fact, it thinks that retail occupancy could even see a rise through the rest of the year.
Also, while more deliveries might not be ideal for landlords, Colliers said in this case that upcoming ones in Miami's retail sector "are poised to release latent demand and boost leasing activity through 2026."
In the first quarter, retail supply dropped to 14,600 square feet, well below the 378,000 square feet posted a year ago. Meanwhile, construction surged by almost fourfold to 838,100 square feet.
The lease signings in the first quarter were led by Tesla's new deal to take 45,255 square feet at The Palms at Town & Country. The electric vehicle giant was followed by two signings that were made by UNIQLO, which leased 23,461 and 14,3000 square feet at the Aventura Mall and Lincoln Road, respectively.
© Arc, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to TMSalesOperations@arc-network.com. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.