While sales at department stores, apparel shops and jewelry houses are down, grocery store sales are up, Marks says. The only threat is from supercenters such as Wal-Mart and Target. "That may not yet be fully appreciated by the investment community," the broker/consultant says.

Still, investors are in a buying mode because "grocery-anchored centers in solid locations are still a good play, especially compared with what the stock market is doing," reports John M. Crossman, senior vice president and director of retail services for the Orlando office of Trammell Crow Co. For example, Crossman is seeing prices of $95 per sf to $100 per sf for Publix Supermarket-anchored centers. Even at those numbers, he says investors can recoup their money in a decent timeframe "if the area is strong enough and they have a competent leasing and management team."

Crossman cautions, however, that "an inexperienced ownership group could really suffer if it buys a center that is in a 'green' area and they do not have the knowledge of how to work with the tenants."