What is retail real estate? I am talking about shopping centers, plazas, and commercial retail development. Many retail developers started building shopping centers following the huge boom in the housing market in Tampa FL. With consumers worried about inflation, high food and energy prices, and worried about making their mortgage payments, many consumers have tightened their budgets and are just not spending as much money. This is the main reason why the retail market is beginning to soften. When the housing market was booming people had a false sense of home equity and thought they had more money than they really had. With home prices down in the Tampa area it makes it next to impossible to tap into home equity which in turn drives fears and pushes down the retail real estate trade.