BETHESDA, Md. — With strip-mall anchor stores such as Linens ’n Things and Circuit City filing for bankruptcy and other companies closing some locations to cut costs, U.S. retail vacancy rates rose to 6.6% in the third quarter from 6.1% a year earlier, according to CoStar Group, a provider of commercial real estate information.
Shopping centers including strip malls are reporting vacancy rates of 9.4%. Larger, enclosed malls are doing better, with vacancy rates of about 3.9%.
