While big-box or grocery-anchored shopping centers remain attractive, investors are taking an increasing interest in smaller community retail sites — a sector once dominated by wealthy families and private offices, reports Joe Ilardi of the Baltimore Business Journal.

FOR EXAMPLE: Take Foxtail Center in Lutherville, Maryland, for instance. Tenants include a mix of chains and local spots, and the site was owned by longtime Baltimore Orioles owner Peter Angelos. In 2023, however, Angelos sold the strip mall to a subsidiary of Ohio-based SITE Centers Corp. for $15.1 million.

 BIG PICTURE: The transition from private owners to larger and in some cases public investors is ongoing across the country. The pandemic was a “battle test,” and shopping centers passed, said CBRE Executive Vice President Ryan Sciullo. Cushman & Wakefield found in a recent report that for the first quarter of 2024, the national retail vacancy rate was 5.4%, one of the lowest rates since before the 2008 financial crisis. Office vacancies, meanwhile, sit in the double digits. The income and value generated by many retail centers also managed to outpace interest rates, a key factor driving their widespread recognition as sound investments compared to other asset classes.

Source:  SFBJ