Voit Real Estate Services Reports Steady Retail Real Estate Fundamentals Amid Store Closures

December 4, 2025 — San Diego, CA: Voit Real Estate Services released its latest analysis of the U.S. retail real estate market, highlighting mixed performance indicators as the industry moves into the final weeks of 2025. The firm’s report examined national trends, the Southern California market, and San Diego’s retail landscape.

National Retail Real Estate Trends

According to Voit Real Estate Services, nearly 6,000 store closures totaling over 120 million square feet occurred in the first half of 2025, citing data from Coresight Research. Major brands leading the closures included Rite Aid, JoAnn Fabrics, and Party City. This figure exceeded the 3,960 closures recorded during the same period in 2024.

Despite the elevated number of closures, Voit reported that CoStar placed the national retail vacancy rate at 4.4% as of November 2025. Neil Saunders, managing director at GlobalData, told CoStar earlier in the year that while there had been several high-profile failures, much of the vacated space was quickly re-leased, keeping vacancy rates relatively low.

Black Friday and Consumer Spending

Voit’s report noted that Black Friday sales exceeded most industry expectations despite a decline in consumer confidence linked to a government shutdown, a weakening job market, and persistent inflation. Overall sales rose 4.1% year over year, according to Adobe data cited in the report. Online retail sales increased 10.4%, while brick-and-mortar sales rose 1.7%. RetailNext reported that U.S. Black Friday foot traffic fell 3.6% compared to 2024.

The National Retail Federation projected that total holiday retail sales for November and December 2025 would increase between 3.7% and 4.2% year over year, indicating continued consumer spending despite economic challenges.

Southern California and San Diego Retail Real Estate

Voit Real Estate Services’ analysis also reviewed retail real estate conditions in Southern California and San Diego. The report indicated that minimal new supply additions supported balanced fundamentals across many retail submarkets. Specific market metrics for these regions were undisclosed.

Commercial Real Estate Outlook

Voit’s findings suggest that steady vacancy rates and continued leasing activity reflect resilience in parts of the retail sector, even as consumer behavior continues to shift toward e-commerce. Broader implications for other commercial real estate segments were undisclosed.

Sources

Source: Voit Real Estate Services – The State of Retail Markets