Real Estate Daily News Buzz is designed to give news snippets to readers that our (yet to be award winning) editors thought you could use to start your day. They come from various business perspectives, real estate, government, the Fed, local news, and the stock markets to save you time. Here you will find the headlines and what the news buzz of the day will be.
The markets were closed Monday, in honor of Martin Luther King Day.
Pacific Retail Growth Partners and Silverpeak purchase Eastridge Mall in Calif.
General Growth Properties has sold Eastridge Mall in San Jose, Calif., to a joint venture between Pacific Retail Growth Partners and Silverpeak Real Estate Partners for more than $200 million. The joint venture will invest $15 million in renovations of the 1.48 million-square-foot property, which has more than 150 shops, entertainment venues and restaurants. (CoStar Group)
Wheeler REIT sees growth linked to acquisitions -- Wheeler Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) said in an interview that it spent $86 million to acquire 11 assets in secondary and tertiary markets in the US in the third quarter of 2015. The company's focus on grocery-anchored shopping centers has protected it against the effects of e-commerce. (REIT.com)
Arkansas shopping center sold to three investors for $39.5M
Namdar Realty Group, CH Capital Group and Mason Asset Management have purchased Fayetteville's Northwest Arkansas Mall for $39.5 million. An affiliate of CW Capital Asset Management LLC sold the property, which it obtained in 2011 in lieu of foreclosure from Midwest Mall Properties LLC. (Arkansas Business)
Ohio city to work with Better Block to drive shoppers to pedestrian shopping center
To build energy at Riverfront Pedestrian Mall in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, the city, with help from the Better Block Foundation, will use a $10,000 grant from Torchbearers to create a retail-focused, two-day event. The Aug. 26-27 event aims to improve foot traffic. (Akron Beacon Journal)
NRF: Retail sales rise 3% in a challenging holiday season
Holiday retail sales rose 3% to $626.1 billion, NRF said Friday, as retailers coped with unseasonably warm weather, high inventories and other economic challenges. "Despite these factors, the industry rallied, consumers responded and sales still grew at a healthy rate, which is a huge testament to the resilience, knowledge and expertise of our retail leadership," said NRF President and CEO Matthew Shay. NRF had forecast a 3.7% increase. (Bloomberg)
Closing underperforming stores has downsides -- Brick-and-mortar retailers will close underperforming stores to shore up their finances, often under pressure from activist investors. But closing stores doesn't always lead to improved earnings for the company, as shuttered stores no longer generate sales and shoppers don't necessarily go to another branch to shop, experts say. Also, breaking leases can be expensive. (CNBC)
Only 47% of consumers would accept offers for data sharing --Just under half of consumers think that it's acceptable for grocery retailers to track their shopping behaviors and sell the data to other companies in return for discount offers, and about one-third say it's not acceptable, Pew Research Center reports. It also found 39% of consumers aged 50 and over wouldn't accept offers in return for data sharing, compared with 27% of consumers aged 18-49.