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Vacancies at Kansas City-area shopping centers stayed above 12 percent in the second quarter, according to the Orange Report, a quarterly report issued by Lane4 Property Group Inc.

The average vacancy rate for metropolitan-area shopping centers during the second quarter was 12.1 percent, just below the 12.2 percent vacancy rate recorded in the first quarter.

During the second quarter last year, the vacancy rate was 11.9 percent.

The reasons behind the steadying vacancy rates are twofold, said Britt Crum-Cano, director of research for Kansas City-based Lane4. During the recession, the weaker retailers went away, leaving the stronger retailers to survive.

Additionally, landlords now seem more willing to negotiate and work with their current tenants so as not to lose them.

“I think we have a lot of untraditional types of negotiations going on,” Crum-Cano said. “The landlords are working one-on-one with tenants, especially if they are having some financial difficulties.”

The report also showed that the average lease rate for shopping centers dropped from $13.23 a foot in the first quarter to $12.99 in the second quarter. But this year’s second-quarter figures were 1.5 percent higher than the $12.80 recorded in the second quarter of last year.

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