National Real Estate Investor
Elaine Misonzhnik, Dec 05, 2018

ICSC's annual New York Deal Making conference got underway at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center this week, with industry insiders in attendance claiming the months-long streak of retailer bankruptcies and store closings is tapering out and the retail sector should have a stable year in 2019. Here is a summary of some takeaways from Wednesday, the first day the trade show floor was open.

1. After more than a year of very few non-distressed sales taking place in the regional mall sector, class-A and -A+ malls started to trade again in 2018.
2. Despite investors' returning appetite for class-A malls, the regional mall sector overall continues to be divided between the haves and have nots with the top-tier, often REIT-owned malls performing well.
3. Outside of the regional mall sector, single-tenant net lease assets and strip centers with three to five tenants tend to be the most popular acquisitions among private investors.
4. The positive news for the power center sector is that the big-box bankruptcies are likely coming to a conclusion.
5. Retail tenants are reconsidering where they want to open stores.
6. The expanding retailers in today's market are the “F's"─fun, family, fitness, food and fashion discounters.
7. The local market is undergoing a correction after rents had gone way above what tenants were willing to support.

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