Las Vegas Retail Sales Surge to $245M in Q4, Highest Since 2022

Las Vegas' retail sector has been enjoying healthy demand, led by sales activity, which hit a volume of about $245.55 million, accounting for roughly 616,000 square feet in the fourth quarter, according to an analysis posted by CBRE on the market and asset class. Not only is that figure up significantly from the $124.16 million and 132,000 square feet from the same period in 2023, but retail sales have hit their highest levels in the city since the fourth quarter of 2022.

The largest two sales involved the buildings Vista Commons (West submarket), and Mountains Edge Marketplace (Southwest submarket), which went for $55.1 million and $55.3 million, respectively. The next three involved these properties: 64,914 square foot Burlington, 24,775 square foot Spring Mountain Plaza, and 71,691 square foot 4500 E Tropicana Ave. Additionally, all five of these deals were in different submarkets, which speaks to what investors think regarding the market's depth.

"These figures underscore the strong demand and investment interest in the Las Vegas retail market," CBRE wrote in an analysis.

Vacancy at the end of the year fell significantly to 4.2 percent after remaining nearly flat at around five percent for about five straight quarters. The Northwest recorded the lowest vacancy rate at 1.8 percent, with the Central East generating the highest at 11.1 percent.

Asking lease rates were flat in 2024 at $2.01 per square foot each month NNN.

While the availability rate went down to 4.7 percent, CBRE noted that "sublease space spiked likely due to a challenging business environment for some industry sectors."

Going into 2025, Las Vegas' retail sector could benefit from a no-tax on-tips initiative, which CBRE expects to drive up household income and consumer demand. Also, the CRE space could get "rocket fuel" if the Federal Reserve decides to enact more rate cuts. However, it does temper expectations due to inflation starting to rise again.

"Nevertheless, real estate capital markets have made good progress in recent quarters. Lending spreads are tightening, and credit issuance is up," CBRE wrote.

"Lending conditions are easing a bit as multifamily loan-to-values are trending slightly upward. Stronger debt markets and balanced and/or recovering space market fundamentals should translate into a noticeable uptick in investment during the next several quarters."