Supply
Jacksonville retail development remained strong over the past 12 months, with 686,000 square feet (sf) of new deliveries, ranking it third in Florida behind Orlando and Tampa. With nearly 724,000 square feet (sf) remaining under construction, of which 84.0% was preleased. Current developments are concentrated in growth submarkets such as St. Johns County, Butler/Baymeadows and Arlington, with St. Johns County alone accounting for roughly half of new construction. Notable projects include Walmart developing two locations, a 179,000-sf store at Oakleaf Plantation in the Riverside submarket that delivered in Q3 2026 and a 200,000-sf store in the St. Johns County submarket scheduled for completion in Q4 2026. Other notable projects include approximately 83,000 sf, Publix-anchored neighborhood center in the Butler/Baymeadows submarket and a 61,000-sf Harris Teeter store in the Arlington submarket, with both set to deliver in early 2027. Vacancy rose to 4.9% up 30 basis points (bps) YOY, just above the U.S. average of 4.3%. This was led by power centers, where vacancy increased by more than 300 bps to 8.4%, as much of the large-block inventory consists of aging properties.
Demand
Retail demand strengthened in Q3 2026, the best paced quarter for this year with net absorption over 242,000 sf, primarily led by Walmart’s nearly 175,000 sf occupation in the Nassau submarket. Deal count and leasing activity both slowed YOY, but average lease size and term increased, as deals signed with terms longer than five years increased by more than 50 YOY. The Riverside submarket ranked second with nearly 240,000 sf of occupancy gains YTD, while more than half of the metro’s submarkets recorded flat or slight losses in absorption.
Pricing
Jacksonville’s retail rent growth remained steady in Q3, continuing a three-year trend of consistent gains. Market asking rent now averages $26.83 per square foot (psf), with growth of 3.3% YOY. This was slightly above the U.S. average of $26.25 psf. Rents range from $37.90 psf in Butler/Baymeadows to $17.14 psf in Northwest Jacksonville, the most affordable submarket. Every submarket still shows positive annual growth, between 2.3% and 4.0%. Newer, well-located space is scarce while most availabilities fall within older lower-tier retail properties. Looking forward, leasing growth is expected to ease toward the low 2.0% range after mid-2027
Investment Sales
Jacksonville’s retail investment market remained active over the past year, supported by steady liquidity and continued investor interest. Approximately 290 transactions closed for 40.3 million sf with sales volume reaching $580.4 million at an average of $241 psf. This was above the five year average of $505.3 million. Deal flow skewed toward smaller properties, with the average buildings sold slightly over the 10,000 sf threshold and more than half of all transactions closing below the $2.0 million mark.
Investor demand has focused on smaller, fully leased neighborhood centers, with CVS at 8801 Southside Boulevard sold for $10.3 million at $664 psf. Those assets offer stable cash flow and are less sensitive to economic shifts. The largest sale over the past year was 661 Blanding Boulevard, a 158,270-sf, fully leased property that traded in Q2 2026 for $18.6 million, or $118 psf. Sale cap rates ranged between 6.5% and 7.5%, with the average being recorded at 7.1%. Private investors accounted for most of total volume YTD, with user-buyers making up roughly 20.0% of trades.
