While the retail real estate market had negative absorption of 130,225 square feet in the first quarter, it rebounded in the second quarter to have positive absorption of 48,665 square feet. Looking at retail vacancies, the southern submarket had the lowest vacancy at 3.7 percent, while the southwestern region had the highest at 10 percent.

Among the retail real estate market's highlights so far this year was the opening of the 540,000-square-foot Shops at Walnut Creek shopping center in Westminster, and AmCap Inc.'s $97 million purchase of the 182,800-square-foot Clayton Lane area of Denver's Cherry Creek North retail district. Local job growth also has helped the office market, translating into an increased demand for space.

At midyear, the office market posted a 16.8 percent vacancy rate and 1.25 million square feet of absorption. Office rents averaged $18.55 a square foot, with the central business district attracting the highest rent. Metro Denver's industrial real estate market -- including warehouses, distribution centers and flex space -- is recovering at a measured pace. The market's overall vacancy rate at midyear was 9.6 percent, basically unchanged from the first quarter.

By Mabelle Sese
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