JUPITER, FL-Investor demand for retail throughout South Florida remains strong, and prices reach new highs as the overall vacancy falls below 6%. A single-tenant drug store asset here traded for $553 per sf, and a small multi-tenant property in Pembroke Pines commanded $308 per sf.

One private investor has sold the 12,290-sf CVS pharmacy at 4100 Military Trail here to another for $6.8 million. The freestanding unit with a drive-thru was built in 2003. It is located within the Abacoa master-planned, mixed-use development, and CVS has a 20-year, triple-net lease, which commenced in 2003. "Single-tenant investments are still regarded as a safe haven for investors desiring stable and predicable cash flow," according to a report by Gene Berman, SVP and managing director of the Fort Lauderdale office of Marcus & Millichap. Lori Schneider, senior investment associate in that office, marketed the CVS property on behalf of the seller and also represented the buyer.

Meanwhile, a 9,817-sf fully leased multi-tenant shopping center in Pembroke Pines sold for just north of $3 million. The strip center, located at 12399 Pembroke Rd., was built in 2000.

Michael Zimmerman and Paul Schneider of Marcus & Millichap's Fort Lauderdale office represented the seller, AF of Pembroke Pines I LLC, and the buyer, Omar Mart LLC, in the transaction. "Most of the major tenant leases are triple net," according to Schneider. Among them are Abaco Systems, Infinity Investments, Sign-O-Rama, Communications to Go and Amore Pizza.

The median price for multi-tenant retail assets in South Florida was between $115 per sf and $120 per sf in 2005, according to Marcus & Millichap data, up between 8.8% and 16.7%, depending on the market, over the previous year and still rising. The retail vacancy rate in Broward County is below 4.6%, according to data from the area office of CB Richard Ellis.