Cleveland, OH Retail Market Report Q3 2026
New Supply Falls 64% While Q3 Absorption Turns Negative
Demand
Cleveland posted net absorption of -104K SF in Q3 2026, against 482K SF in the same quarter last year. Vacancy is 4.9%, 43 bps looser than Q3 2025. Rockside Corridor is the tightest submarket at 0.8% vacancy; Chagrin Corridor leads rent growth at +4.0%. Trailing-12-month absorption of -326K SF compares with 573K SF a year earlier. Asking rent of $16.07/SF is down 0.2% year over year and 1.1% below the Q2 2026 peak of $16.26/SF. Vacancy sits 74 bps above the Q3 2023 low of 4.2%.
Supply
Cleveland delivered 23K SF in Q3 and 335K SF over the trailing twelve months (-64% versus the prior TTM period). Space under construction equals 0.1% of inventory, concentrated in South at 0.5% of its stock. Annual deliveries peaked at 3.57M SF in 2006. Q3 deliveries were less than half of last year’s 216K SF.
Investment Market
Cleveland recorded $0.7B in sales over the trailing twelve months, +7% against the prior TTM period; Q3 accounted for $194M. The high-water mark in this series is $0.9B in 2021.
Cleveland cap rates average 8.07%, down for 6 straight quarters. Pricing sits at $141/SF, higher for 15 consecutive years. Price per SF is at a record.
Volume
- $0.7B TTM volume (+7% YoY)
- Q3 2026: $194M
- Series peak $0.9B (2021)
Pricing
- Cap rate 8.07%
- Price per SF $141
- Caps compressing 6 quarters running
