In the first edition of Florida Megatrends, David Colburn and Lance deHaven-Smith revealed the state for what it is: a bellwether for the nation. The intervening years have only confirmed their analyses, as Florida and the U.S. have been battered and transformed by the housing collapse, the great economic recession that began in 2008, record-high gas prices, withering tourism, the 2004 hurricane season, and much more. This completely revised and updated edition brings the story up-to-date.

Retail real estate properties and their marketplaces are in a constant state of change. The emergence of such new and growing value formats as warehouse clubs, factory outlet malls, and other powerful discount formats provide traditional shopping centers and malls with increasingly competitive challenges. These value and discount retail formats generate higher sales per square foot and have lower construction costs than many traditional retail properties. Combined with the slow growth in retail sales and the increasing alternatives to in-store retailing, a question mark hangs over the future of retail marketplaces and the retail formats that will be the leaders of the future. Megatrends in Retail Real Estate allows the reader to analyze and forecast changes in the retail marketplace. The book presents a simple model to analyze and predict mall and shopping center investment returns. It then examines the financing of retail properties and securitization of their mortgages, as well as the operations of retail properties. Finally, the book analyzes new retail marketplaces and the international retail arena.