Retail real estate has undergone a significant shift in investor sentiment during the past decade. From pre-pandemic pariah to emerging star, the once-shunned property sector is back on the menu for an increasing number of investors and poised for future growth. Investors who are open to looking beyond the groupthink and revisiting prior assumptions and predictions for the asset class are likely to come to the same conclusion and quickly recognize a gem hidden in plain sight.

Rather than painting the entire retail sector with a broad brush, we believe a subsector within has been positioned for this renaissance all along as a function of changing consumer behavior, demographic migration and supply constraints.

Ecommerce premonitions have not materialized

The biggest megatrend impacting the retail sector over the past decade has been ecommerce growth. Technology disrupted how consumers interacted with a physical retail location, most negatively im