Working Paper #571
Retail-Office Performance Rotation
Philip Conner · Ryan Severino
Commercial Brokerage Rental Retail
The office and retail sectors exhibit a pattern of rotating performance relative to the overall NPI, which has profound implications for investors. The office sector has been prone to pronounced space market and investment cycles, but the retail sector has experienced relatively moderate cycles which, at times, have caused investment performance to deviate from other property types, especially office. Retail has significantly outperformed the office sector in recent years, but the U.S. real estate market has reached a turning point. As office vacancies decline, office rents rise, and retail sales slow, the office sector should outperform retail for several years.