Top 6 Takeaways from ICSC

The national ReCon ICSC conference was recently held in Las Vegas, one of commercial real estate’s largest annual gatherings for the retail market. Major players from the shopping center industry were in attendance to compile crucial market intel and network with notable lenders and brokers from around the country. Meetings were had, deals were struck—here are the important takeaways from this year’s ICSC.

1) International activity is way up. Players from Asia, Europe and South America were noticeably present at the event.

2) One of the primary topics most buzzed about was leasing. Activity seems to be hitting a high in this area.

3) Attendance was up. With over 34,000 frenzied attendees, this is clearly a hot segment right now.

4) There is a lot of capital in the retail marketplace from lenders, developers, equity providers, and investors. Leasing and investment brokers walked the floor along side big name lenders looking for deals.

5) Expect the landscape to stay hot for a while. According to CoStar’s Randyl Drummer, “With retail sales edging back up and a lack of suitable sites, expanding retailers are prompting a fledgling wave of new development in addition to stepped-up lending and investment sales activity”.

6) Single Tenant NNN space continues to see increased competition. Debt and Equity players are bolstering platforms to compete in the space. Expect downward pressure on cap rates to continue while scarcity of product and influx of investors coming into the space remains at an all-time high.