IRVINE, CA—The retail-investment market's temperature varies according to property type and location, but single-tenant retail is one of the hottest sub-sectors, Nicholas Coo, senior managing director of Faris Lee Investments, tells GlobeSt.com. We spoke with Coo about the various property types and how his firm advises investors and sellers to get the most out of an asset.

GlobeSt.com: Nick, tell us about the retail property market right now. Is it a buyer's or a seller's market, in your opinion?

Coo: There's a multifaceted answer to that question. Some segments of the market are at unprecedented highs in pricing. Other segments are in equilibrium where benefits are strong for both parties. The seller's market is at its strongest in the single-tenant category, largely within the ultra-urban core MSAs and also across the country for NNN assets with credit tenants. For example, an Apple store on the iconic Third Street Promenade in Santa Monica, CA sold for a 3% cap rate recently. That trade blows away all conventional retail cap-rate thresholds for an asset of its size. With other property types—anchored or unanchored retail outside of what we would consider a top-tier urban location—we are seeing more equilibrium where both parties stand to benefit.