The pandemic has strengthened demand for grocery-anchored retailassets. Grocery-anchored retail was already an investor favorite inthe last cycle—due to the increase in online shopping—but thepandemic has proven that grocery stores perform well not onlyduring a downturn, but during a crisis. As a result, investors havecontinued to bet on these assets and transact during thedownturn.

"We have seen demand for grocery-anchored assets during thepandemic," Gary Stache of CBREtells GlobeSt.com. "Grocery stores have been allowed to stay openduring this time and sales at these stores have increased by andlarge. The ability for grocery-anchored assets to survive duringperiods of crisis has strengthened investor confidence."

Stache along with Anthony DeLorenzo,Doug Mack and Bryan Johnsonrecently closed a Vons grocery store in the North Park area of SanDiego. A private investor purchased the property in a 1031transaction for $27.7 million. While the deal went under contractbefore the pandemic hit, it is an example of the strong demand forgrocery assets. The pandemic did not derail the deal. "This was anattractive asset largely due to the fact that it is a single-tenantproperty with a long-term lease agreement in place," saysStache.