Houston Retail Market Sustains Its Longest High-Occupancy Streak
Retail occupancy in Houston hasn’t dipped below 90% since 2013. In recent years, it has remained comfortably above that threshold.
Houston retail ended 2025 with 95.2% occupancy as limited new supply kept demand in lockstep, according to a Weitzman report. This could push rents to unsustainable levels for tenants in some cases, but Weitzman Assistant Vice President Sarah Thobae told Bisnow that landlords and occupiers have also struck a functional balance.
“Rents are rising. However, I find it’s more with centers that are being remodeled or new spaces being added to existing centers,” Thobae said.
Retail rents in Houston vary widely by location, anchor tenants, traffic and demographics, according to the report. Asking rents for small-shop space within the 610 Loop average from $50 to $70 per SF per year, while small-shop space outside of the Loop ranges from the high $20s per SF per year for Class-B properties to $40 to $55 for newly constructed space.
In 2025, about 1.1M SF of new retail was delivered in the Houston area, adding a negligible amount of stock to a market that already had 167.5M SF of retail space.
Some landlords will be influenced by new projects nearby to remodel their own spaces, Thobae said, citing Weitzman’s Manvel Town Center as an example. Shop and pad space opened last year at the 273-acre development where Lowe’s Home Improvement is set to open soon.
“The other centers, which may be a little bit older, may do a face-lift and follow suit,” meaning they could also raise rents, she said.
But big-box chain bankruptcies are another factor helping to keep supply and demand balanced in Houston’s retail market. The last two years have brought closures of retail chains including Conn’s HomePlus Stores; Party City, which closed most of its stores by early 2025; and Joann, which closed nine Houston-area stores in mid-2025.
Expanding retailers and entertainment concepts that backfilled spaces last year include AR's Entertainment Hub, a 40K SF family entertainment concept that went into a former Conn’s in Spring; Lumos, which opened in a 45K SF former Sam’s Club in New Caney; and Sky Zone, which backfilled another Conn’s in Houston.
“Large vacancies are being backfilled quite quickly,” Thobae said.
With Houston continuing its longest high-occupancy streak, Thobae said she isn’t concerned about things slowing down.
“I think 2026 is going to set us up for the next really great three years,” Thobae said. “Our job growth continues. Amidst the tariffs and inflation and interest rates, I find Houston to be pretty resilient.”
