The properties included the 110,650-sf Mission Foothill Marketplace at 28721-28855 Los Alisos Blvd. in Mission Viejo, which TLT-MFM LLC bought for $21.8 million; and the 78,784-sf Pierside Pavilion at300 Pacific Coast Highway in Huntington Beach, which was listed at $27 million and was sold to a private investor for an undisclosed amount.

The buyer of Mission Foothill acquired the property from an affiliate of Los Angeles-based Doerken Properties Inc., which developed the center in 1996. The private investor bought Pierside from Arizona Partners.

Etedali and Gwen MacKenzie of Sperry Van Ness represented the seller in the Mission Foothill Marketplace deal, while Bob Clippinger of Providence Realty Group represented the buyer, who was in a 10-31 exchange from an apartment complex. In the Pierside sale, Etedali represented the seller.

The Mission Viejo center fronts the Route 241 toll road and is anchored by Vons and Sav-on. Pierside is anchored by Mann Theaters and Huntington Beach Surf and Sports, and the center is known for a number of popular restaurants.

Etedali tells GlobeSt.com the sellers received multiple offers on both properties, which were approximately 98% occupied at the time of sale. The seller had owned the Mission Foothill Marketplace since developing it, and the seller of Pierside had owned it for about four years. The Mission Viejo center is a single-story building, while Pierside is a four-story center with offices on the top two floors.

"Retail is becoming a product of choice for many investors because of its higher cap rates and reliable returns," Etedali tells GlobeSt.com.

Retail "didn't participate in the frenzy of the late 1990s," Etedali continues, and in fact the category suffered when there was so much interest in office properties. Now, however, he sees renewed interest in the category, which some investors once avoided because they thought Internet sales would hurt retail stores much more than they have.