The market-wide vacancy rate stood at 6.2 percent at the end of the second quarter, a period that included the first spate of negative net absorption in more than two years. Several retailers that are based in the metroplex, including Pier 1 Imports, Neiman Marcus, Tuesday Morning and J.C. Penney, have been among the major names to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and shutter stores in response to COVID-19. Investors’ concerns about rent collection and occupancy also impacted retail investment sales volume in DFW, which stood at approximately $1.6 billion at the end of the quarter, its lowest quarterly total in five years. Texas, one of the first states to reopen, has since seen a spike in new COVID-19 cases that prompted Gov. Greg Abbott to pause further reopenings in late June, a move that most notably included shutting down bars once again. The state currently has about 292,000 confirmed cases and 3,500 deaths, according to the Texas Department of State & Health Services.
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