BURLINGTON, Vt. -- On the Church Street Marketplace, along with all the holiday decorations, you will see something else. Several real estate signs line empty storefronts. Real estate companies say in this economy, things have been slower.

Bad Economy Hits Burlington Marketplace

"I look at it as a little bit of a normal economic cycle, maybe a little more severe than we are used to. I think Church Street with weather this far better than a lot of the suburban areas will," said Tony Blake, partner of V/T Commercial, an industry expert in commercial real estate sales and leasing.

Blake said the marketplace is still very healthy, despite some empty storefronts. He added with national stores pushing back a little bit, there will be a correction in the marketplace for rent prices, and that may create opportunities for more local or regional stores to come back into the marketplace. He said the pendulum is now swinging back into the middle again.