West Palm Beach Retail Market Report

Single-tenant demand is universally strong. An average effective apartment rent and typical monthly mortgage payment that trail Miami equivalents by $140 and $590 per month, respectively as of September, continue to stoke population gains. West Palm Beach’s resident base expanded by more than 63,000 over the two-year stretch ended in the third quarter of 2023, and an additional 40,000-plus new inhabitants are expected across the next 24 months. The broadening consumer base is attractive to retailers looking to enter the region or diversify their existing footprint. Net-lease tenants, in particular, are present in the market. Eight of nine submarkets had a single-tenant vacancy rate of 4.5 percent or lower entering July, and the only spot absent from that list, Royal Palm Beach-Wellington, has future drivers in place. Segment vacancy exceeds 8.5 percent in the submarket, but these outlying suburbs are among the fastest growing for apartment supply, which should pique retailer interest.