New Haven-Fairfield County Retail Market Report

High-earning populace carries market through headwinds. Despite concerns stemming from longstanding population attrition, southwestern Connecticut’s local median income is approaching $200,000 — the highest among major U.S. markets — which helps backstop retail spending. Upward adjustments to vacancy have been less dramatic in upper-income locales, as the metric in Fairfield County increased at roughly half the margin noted in New Haven County last year, a situation that should continue in 2024. Home to Connecticut’s Gold Coast, this affluent submarket has been better insulated from recent bouts of inflation than other areas of the U.S., though local consumers have still trimmed their budgets. On a brighter note, price turbulence has eased entering this year, which may aid consumer activity in the coming months, and possibly set the stage for an overall absorption turnaround in late 2024 or early 2025.