What we see in retail centers

October 7, 2026 · Financing

Strip Center Cap Rates Are Priced Like 2007. Check the Spread.

National strip center cap rates sit less than three points over the 10-year Treasury, the same thin cushion as 2007 and late 2022. The rate-bet test shows what a deal is really betting on, and why small Wisconsin centers often pass it.

October 7, 2026 · Ownership

The Retail Apocalypse Skipped the Strip Center

From 2017 to 2020 store closures hit records and mall debt went delinquent, while strip center vacancy kept falling. What the data says about which small centers held value, and a closure-list ratio to run before you buy.

September 21, 2026 · Leasing

New Construction Needs $40 Rent. That Is Your Moat.

A new small strip center in Southeastern Wisconsin needs about $40 a foot triple net to pencil, roughly three times the metro average asking rent. That gap protects most of your rent roll, and exposes the tenants who will pay for new.

September 1, 2026 · Financing

Your Loan Matures a Year Before the Date in the Note

Your refinance is decided about a year before the balloon, by the NOI in place when the appraiser arrives. At today's terms every dollar of NOI is worth about $8.70 of loan, so a $48,000 lease signed early is worth $419,000 at closing.

August 13, 2026 · NOI

Your Empty Parking Stalls may be Valuable Land.

On many small strip centers the back row of parking earns nothing. A drive-thru pad on its own parcel can turn it into more value per stall than the shop space it serves, if your leases, easements and lender allow it.

July 29, 2026 · Ownership

Your Deferred Tax Is a Loan. Price It Like One.

A center bought in 2005 for $2.0 million and worth $5.5 million carries a $1.27 million tax bill. That bill is an interest-free loan, and the walk-away yield tells you whether it is still worth keeping.

June 23, 2026 · NOI

The Buyer Isn't Buying Your NOI.

Buyers pay for how long your income lasts and whether it survives diligence. On a small center, 75 basis points of rollover risk can cost as much as losing 10% of NOI, which is why the early renewal beats the raise before a sale.

June 9, 2026 · Leasing

When a Tenant Sells Its Business, It Is Selling Your Lease

A local tenant's business sale is priced partly on your below-market rent. How to find the lease premium, what Wisconsin law says about consent and release, and why consenting with a rent reset usually beats both a rubber stamp and recapture.

May 27, 2026 · Asset Management

Credit, Local Operators and the Mix That Holds a Center Together

Two centers the same size and fully leased can be very different assets. How to read your tenant mix for concentration, co-tenancy and exclusive-use risk, when local operators work, and how to choose who gets the next open space.

April 28, 2026 · Asset Management

Your Lender Runs Three Numbers. Two of Them Move.

LTV moves with cap rates. DSCR moves with interest rates. Debt yield moves with nothing but your NOI, which is why it is the number that decides whether a loan written in 2016 refinances cleanly in 2026.

April 9, 2026 · Asset Management

Your Pylon Is Leasable Space. Stop Giving It Away.

A small center has more suites than sign panels, and the code will never give you more. Here is how to allocate panels, when a face refresh pays for itself in one month of vacancy, and why the old pylon may be worth more than a new one.

March 24, 2026 · Leasing

The Strip Center Owner's Monthly Scorecard: What You Should Actually Be Watching

The flywheel is the framework, so use it as the scorecard. Five stations, one question each, with a fast signal to check every month and a slower measure that only means something once a year.