What Is Actually Changing in Retail Real Estate Right Now
A Different Kind of Tenant Walked In A few years ago, most of my conversations about retail space were about the same handful of tenant types: restaurants, salons, fitness studios, a few national brands filling anchor boxes. That is still most of my business. But somewhere in the middle of all that, I started doing […]
How a Shopping Center Deal Actually Gets Underwritten
What Underwriting Really Means People hear “underwriting” and picture a spreadsheet. That’s part of it, but it’s the smaller part. Underwriting a shopping center is really the process of deciding whether a property’s story matches its price. The spreadsheet just records the conclusion. Before I open a model, I want to know why the center […]
Why a Fully Leased Shopping Center Is Not Always the Safer Buy
The Number Everyone Looks at First Ask most buyers what makes a shopping center a good investment and the first word out of their mouth is “occupancy.” A center at 100 percent leased feels safe. A center at 70 percent feels risky. That instinct is not wrong exactly, but it is incomplete, and treating occupancy […]
Stabilized or Value-Add: The Choice Behind Every Shopping Center I Look At
The Question Every Deal Forces You to Answer Every time I look at a shopping center, I end up asking the same question before I get anywhere near a number. Do I want this property fully leased and humming along, or do I want it messy, with vacancy, deferred maintenance, and a reason the seller […]
Benjamin “Benji” Berkowitz: Building a Track Record in Texas Commercial Real Estate
In commercial real estate, a broker’s experience is ultimately reflected in the transactions they are able to bring across the finish line. For Benjamin “Benji” Berkowitz, that track record has been built through a growing portfolio of retail investment sales, property transactions, and client representation throughout Texas. Based in Fort Worth, Berkowitz serves as Vice […]
Navigating a Complex Multi-Tenant Office Sale
As a commercial real estate professional, few experiences are as rewarding as successfully executing a complex transaction that challenges every aspect of your expertise. That was certainly the case with my recent sale of Eagle Ranch Office Park, a multi-tenant office property in Fort Worth, Texas. Representing the seller exclusively, I was tasked with navigating […]
I Watched a “Perfect” Retail Deal Fall Apart After PSA: Here’s What Actually Killed It
There is a common assumption in net lease real estate that once a deal is under contract, the hard part is over. The asset is “sold,” the buyer is in place, and the path to closing is just a matter of paperwork and timing. Anyone who has spent time in investment sales knows that assumption […]
The Death of the “Easy” NNN Deal: Why Net Lease Pricing Is Getting Misunderstood in 2026
For a long time, net lease investing was considered the most straightforward corner of commercial real estate. A tenant signs a long-term lease, covers taxes, insurance, and maintenance, and investors collect a predictable income stream. On the surface, it looks simple. That simplicity is exactly why so many capital sources are now mispricing risk in […]
Executing a Tight Net Lease Execution: 515 S. Henderson St., Fort Worth, Texas
Structuring the Transaction Story Every net lease sale has two layers: the deal itself and the execution behind it. The recent sale of the Jack in the Box at 515 S. Henderson Street in Fort Worth, Texas reflects both. On the surface, it is a straightforward single-tenant NNN fast-food asset. Underneath, it is a tightly […]
Positioning a Trophy NNN Restaurant Asset: 87 Yorktown Shopping Center, Lombard, Illinois
Building the Foundation of the Offering Bringing a high-quality net lease asset to market is never just about listing a property. It is about building a clear investment narrative that connects credit, lease structure, location, and capital markets demand into one cohesive story. The process behind 87 Yorktown Shopping Center in Lombard, Illinois demonstrates how […]