Search
 

BIG PICTURE: Investors Chase Neighborhood Retail Centers

ORLANDO-REITs, pension funds and value-added buyers are paying as much as $200 per sf for retail sites with anchored grocery stores, brokers, investors and developers tell GlobeSt.com. But many owners are holding onto their properties as the volatile stock market plays itself out.

By Alex Finkelstein | Updated on October 01, 2001

ORLANDO-New and established neighborhood shopping centers may be the only relatively safe investment game left in town these days, brokers, investors and developers tell GlobeSt.com. Too many buyers are chasing too few properties on the market, sources say. “Neighborhood shopping centers are perceived by investors as being relatively recession-resistant because we still need to eat,” David W. Marks, president of Marketplace Advisors Inc. in Orlando, tells GlobeSt.com.

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.”

Want to continue reading?
Become a Free ALM Digital Reader.

Once you are an ALM digital member, you’ll receive:

  • Unlimited access to GlobeSt and other free ALM publications
  • Access to 15 years of GlobeSt archives
  • Your choice of GlobeSt digital newsletters and over 70 others from popular sister publications
  • 1 free article* every 30 days across the ALM subscription network
  • Exclusive discounts on ALM events and publications

*May exclude premium content
Already have an account?

NOT FOR REPRINT

© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.

GlobeSt

Join GlobeSt

Don't miss crucial news and insights you need to make informed commercial real estate decisions. Join GlobeSt.com now!

  • Free unlimited access to GlobeSt.com's trusted and independent team of experts who provide commercial real estate owners, investors, developers, brokers and finance professionals with comprehensive coverage, analysis and best practices necessary to innovate and build business.
  • Exclusive discounts on ALM and GlobeSt events.
  • Access to other award-winning ALM websites including ThinkAdvisor.com and Law.com.

Already have an account? Sign In Now
Join GlobeSt

Copyright © 2024 ALM Global, LLC. All Rights Reserved.