TAMPA, FL—Net leased assets are selling left and right as we approach the fourth quarter of 2014. The latest to trade is an 1,880-square-foot Dairy Queen in the Tampa suburb of Brandon, FL. The asset sold for $445,000.

Michael A. Mele, senior vice president and William Wamble, associate in Marcus & Millichap's Tampa office, represented the Tampa-based seller, a local private investor. Armando Rodriguez, also in the firm's Tampa office, represented the buyer.

“There is a growing demand for these types of single-tenant properties in the Tampa Bay MSA at the moment,” says Wamble. “A lot of out-of-area investors are intrigued by this market due to the compression of cap rates in South Florida and other primary markets around the country.”

Dairy Queen was built in 1959 and is located at 602 West Brandon Boulevard in Brandon. The property sits on the city's main thoroughfare of Brandon Boulevard in a highly visible and high-traffic area.

“We were able to drive three offers in the first week and two of these were from out-of-area buyers looking to deploy capital in a growing area with higher yields,” adds Wamble. This location has been in business since 1993 and has established well-known name recognition in the area.

David Conn, executive vice president and Southeast director of the Retailer Services Group at CBRE, tells GlobeSt.com there are definite signs of growth in the Tampa Bay retail market in 2014. Economically, he says, Tampa took it on the chin during the recession because of its reliance on housing and construction, but things have changed.

“We're in better shape than we were a couple of years ago—unemployment is down, retail sales are up, and our overall vacancy is at about 8%, which is healthy,” Conn says. “As a result of these indicators, I believe we're on the cusp of significant new development for the first time since 2007.”