The U.S. mall vacancy rate jumped to 9.1 percent in the third quarter, up from 8.6 percent in second quarter 2018, according to Reis. One year ago it was 8.3 percent. Sears Holdings Corp. is preparing for bankruptcy, and the increase in mall vacancy was due to a number of Sears stores that closed their doors in early August.

The 50 basis point increase measured by Reis may not capture all of the turmoil driven by the Sears closings. Many of the closed Sears stores were owner occupied, and thus not included in the Reis statistics. The vacancy rate would have been even higher if they had been included.

Along with the jump in vacancy, the average mall asking rent declined 0.3 percent in the third quarter — the first quarter to see a rent decline since 2011. Mall rents had increased 0.4 percent per quarter, on average, for the past eight quarters.

The neighborhood and community center sector saw vacancy in the third quarter unchanged at 10.2 percent, following ste