Net lease retail is known as one of the hottest sectors of the commercial real estate industry, and Stan Johnson Co. is right in the middle of it. The firm, which is at booth 1513 at the ICSC Western Division Conference in San Diego Sept. 19-21, averages about $1.5 billion in net lease transactions a year, many of them retail. Ed Breslin, associate director of investment sales in the firm’s Santa Monica office, spoke to GlobeSt.com about trends he is seeing in the industry.

GlobeSt.com: Is there any sign that the net lease market is slowing down in retail, or is it still going strong?

Edward Breslin: I don’t see it really slowing down. I see there being a continued strongdemand for net lease assets across the board. It’s continuing to drive up prices and lower caps. Although I will say that I’ve noticed in the last three months that the percentage that were going up or compressing in the last 12 to 18 months is beginning to tighten. We’re also seeing a good number of deals that are under contract or LOI that are coming back to market. That’s a result of the incredible compression we have seen in the last 12 to 18 months.