Metros Retail space rents are finally increasing across all retail types in the U.S. for the first time since 2008. This is great news for retail property owners. More than 70% of the U.S. retail market reported positive rent growth during the first quarter of 2013 which is signaling a broad recovery for the sector. This recovery is a culmination of 2½ years of steady improvements to the retail sector. There was 17 million square feet of positive absorption in in first quarter, slightly down from a year ago, partly because of retailers continuing to shed stores and consolidation into stronger shopping centers. Dallas-Fort Worth, Phoenix, Denver, Salt Lake City and San Diego were leading in demand growth year over year. Vacancies are expected to continue to drop as little new construction is coming online. Power centers and malls have some of the lowest vacancies at 5.9%.