Keen Appetites for Value-Added Investment Set the Tone for Annual Las Vegas Gathering
With 35,000-plus attendees thronging last months ICSC RECon event in Las Vegas, it seems safe to say that commercial retail real estate is roaring back from the Great Recession in a big way. Its not just the number of attendees that impressed us but the amount of new blood among them and the intense deal-making mood that pervaded the convention center.
Solid Retail Fundamentals Are Driving the Market on Multiple Levels
Yes, weve seen more attendees at past RECons (the record is 50,000), but weve never seen one of these shows with more capital aggressively chasing deals. Frothy would be a good word to describe the acquisition-oriented activity. The big institutional investors, many of whom we advise, were in a bullish state of mind and on the hunt for high quality, core retail assets as well as core plus and value-added retail properties. In addition to dominant grocery anchored centers, power centers and properties that feature category leading brands and credit tenants are in strong demand.
Ground up development was also drawing its own healthy slice of investor attention. For the first time since the slump began, there is a pipeline of significant development money, which is good news for the construction management team at Levin. Behind all this investor interest is the growing strength of retail fundamentals, particularly in the top-tier markets, which are typically the under retailed, high barrier to entry markets as well as the growth markets.
RECon, As Usual, Reveals Retail Real Estate Trends: Mixed Use, Hot Markets, New Retail restaurant and Entertainment Concepts and Smaller Footprints for Big Box Tenants
Trend watchers always like to keep a sharp eye on gatherings like RECon, scanning the scene for the next big thing. The 2015 event yielded some hints about new industry directions, most of which have been evolving for some time. The biggest driver of change in retail; online shopping, is now a firmly entrenched consumer habit and retailers and retail real estate owners and managers continue to struggle to pry people away from their screens and back into bricks-and-mortar venues. So we see both new retail development and renovations to existing shopping centers that include new restaurant and entertainment concepts, cinemas, and event spaces joining the line-up of traditional retail stores. Mixed-use development is also a focus. Experimentation is the name of the game here, as developers search for the right mix of retail, restaurants, entertainment, residential and/or office uses, and tackle the subtle nuances of pedestrian traffic patterns and tenant positioning. Success in mix use, many are finding, depends on the dynamics of the individual market and thats not something that lends itself to a template or formula.
The retail real estate sector is nothing if not dynamic, and change tends to involve responses to new trends. Wal-Mart and Target, for example, are adjusting to unique environments, particularly the dense urban markets as well as to continued competition from the extreme discount grocers and dollar stores with smaller footprints and new concepts. Expect to see the continued rollout of The Wal-Mart Express convenience stores and The Neighborhood Markets, with emphasis on groceries.
All in all, RECon 2015 was a testament to the resiliency of our industry and a cause for optimism. We are on a roll!