KUT RADIO INTERVIEW; Austin Retail Space Shrinking

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Austin businesses looking to change or expand locations are finding it’s getting harder and more expensive to do so. Cody Lyon of the Austin Business Journal discusses the challenges concerning retail space with KUT’s Ian Crawford.

Vacancy rates have risen to up to 7 percent in some areas, as opposed to 15 percent in parts of Round Rock and Williamson County. Coupled with a decline in retail construction, this is giving landlords more opportunity to be more selective about whom they rent to. In order to develop successful, working relationships with their tenants, landlords want to know the business plan.

Being up front with the landlord is beneficial because oftentimes they’ll work with you, Lyon said. There could be some flexibility in the beginning stages of the lease term, for example. Ultimately, your success is their success as well.

Cody Lyon, on whether Austin should expect to see more retail and office space built anytime soon:

I think we will eventually, but right now the issue is money. The issue is lending. The banks are not necessarily lending. There has been talk and there have been studies of outside money that’s looking to invest and Austin is one of those cities that has moved beyond what most people associate with Middle American cities.

Austin ranked as the number two market to watch in the United States in an Emerging Trends in Real Estate report released last week.