"The Tilton Shaw's Plaza represented an attractive opportunity to acquire a new and dominant supermarket anchored strip center at a freeway intersection in a growing market," says Spaulding & Slye Colliers senior vice president James M. Koury in a released statement. "The long term credit leases from Shaw's, Staples, and Applebee's should provide reliable cash for the buyer."

According to Koury, a specialist in shopping center sales, while activity has slowed down in the office market, multifamily and retail are the hottest products in this area in the real estate market. "Retail is seen as safer than office because it usually has long-term leases which will carry investors through the economic downturn," Koury tells GlobeSt.com.

Within retail, supermarket-anchored centers have become the more appealing investment. In fact, notes Koury, the pricing gap between supermarket-anchored centers and non supermarket-anchored centers has increased with supermarket-anchored centers now more valuable. "People are driving up the pricing of supermarket-anchored centers," he notes. "They are looked at as secure with loyal customers who come every week."