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<\/p>\nRetail occupancy in Houston hasn\u2019t dipped below 90% since 2013. In recent years, it has remained comfortably above that threshold.<\/p>\n
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Houston retail<\/a> ended 2025 with 95.2% occupancy\u00a0as limited new supply kept demand in lockstep, according to a\u00a0Weitzman<\/a>\u00a0report. This could push rents to unsustainable levels for tenants in some cases, but Weitzman Assistant Vice President Sarah Thobae\u00a0told\u00a0Bisnow that landlords and occupiers have also struck a functional balance.<\/p>\n \u201cRents are rising. However, I find it\u2019s more with centers that are being remodeled or new spaces being added to existing centers,\u201d Thobae said.<\/p>\n Retail rents in Houston vary widely by location, anchor tenants, traffic and demographics,\u00a0according to the report. Asking rents for small-shop space within the 610 Loop average from $50 to $70 per SF per year, while small-shop space outside of the Loop ranges from the high $20s per SF per year for Class-B properties to $40 to $55 for newly constructed space.<\/p>\n In\u00a02025, about 1.1M SF of new retail was delivered in the Houston area, adding a negligible amount of stock to a market that already had 167.5M SF of retail space.<\/p>\n Some landlords will be influenced by new projects nearby to remodel their own spaces, Thobae said, citing Weitzman\u2019s Manvel<\/a> Town Center as an example. Shop and pad space opened last year at the 273-acre development where Lowe\u2019s Home Improvement<\/a> is set to open soon.<\/p>\n \u201cThe other centers, which may be a little bit older, may do a face-lift and follow suit,\u201d\u00a0meaning they could also\u00a0raise rents, she said.<\/p>\n But big-box<\/a> chain bankruptcies are another factor helping to keep supply and demand balanced in Houston\u2019s retail market. The last two years have brought closures of retail chains including Conn\u2019s HomePlus Stores;\u00a0Party City<\/a>, which closed most of its stores by early 2025; and\u00a0Joann<\/a>, which closed nine Houston-area stores in mid-2025.<\/p>\n