Austin Retail Q1 2026 Quarterly Market Report

Austin's retail market experienced slowed activity in Q1 2026, with net absorption declining 92.3% to 26,230 square feet while vacancy rose 20 basis points to 3.6%, and leasing activity decreased 9.2% to 502,376 square feet. The construction pipeline grew 5.2% quarterly to 2.8 million square feet with deliveries down 60.7%, average asking rental rates marginally declined 0.3% to $26.40 per square foot, and investment sales volume totaled $144 million over the past 12 months at an average price of $288 per square foot.