Where Retail Activity Is Still Hot, Hot, Hot

Retail was the only asset class to see a decrease in investment sales activity in 2017. Office and industrial both had record-breaking investment activity, and multifamily saw a nominal increase in activity, according to research from CBRE. While retail sale activity overall was down, price-per-square foot actually increased. Scott Peterson, an SVP at CBRE, sat down for an exclusive interview to talk about the trends in the San Diego retail market, and says that the increase in pricing says a lot about the demand for retail: quality properties are trading while sub-par properties—whether due to location or tenant mix—are not. Here Peterson gives us a look inside the San Diego retail market.

GlobeSt.com: At the end of last year, retail was the only asset class with a decrease in sale volume in San Diego. Why is this asset class struggling?

Scott Peterson: You can see that retail sales are down, but price per square foots are up. That means that the better properties are selling. The properties that are being affected by ecommerce and would therefore have a lower price-per-square foot are not trading. Quality properties are trading and they are trading at premiums and high prices. The properties that are struggling are not trading.