Aric Browne of Ethan Christopher LLC sealed his purchase of the 21,595-sf property from Matt Strauss and Marc Weiss, comprising Palms Desert Cave Creek LLC of Solana Beach, CA. "We're seeing more demand for retail properties that don't have credit in them," Sanford Burstyn of Marcus & Millichap tells GlobeSt.com. "The supply of shopping center product collectively is low and demand is high so options are limited. As well as these sorts of properties have done over the last 10 years, that has reduced the perceived risk from investors." Burstyn represented both parties in the deal.

Located at 2321 E. Bell Road, the two-acre Cave Creek Plaza was built in the late 1980s and is anchored by a 99 Cents Only Store and Osco Drug, both of which were not included in the sale. The purchase brings to eight the number of deals purchased by Browne in the last year, who now has more than 700,000 sf of leaseable space in Phoenix. An acquisition loan was arranged at about 75% of the total value, though terms were not disclosed. The deal broke down to about $150 per sf--a relatively low price for retail centers, says Burstyn.

The transaction included 13 local creditworthy tenants, such as an investment company, hair salon, Middle Eastern restaurant and smoke shop. Occupancy was 96% at closing. Rents run at approximately $16 per sf.