The Dallas retail market has been on a historic run over the last five years. Dallas is attracting significant attention from foreign and domestic retail investors alike for several reasons. Cap rates continue to compress, big box spaces are experiencing steady absorption, occupancy is at an all-time high of 94.6 percent, unemployment is at a historic low of 3.7 percent, population growth is holding steady and residential development remains robust. The Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW) MSA recently ranked second in the Americas for real estate investor interest, according to a recent poll conducted by CBRE. In particular, there has been a strong increase in demand for retail properties from California buyers. Many of these investors are used to paying 4 to 5 percent cap rates. So when these California buyers have the opportunity to invest in a market showing stronger signs of growth than their local regions, they jump at the chance. According to CoStar Group, over the last 18 months, the average cap rate for a Dallas retail asset purchased by a California buyer was 6.1 percent. In contrast, the average for a Texas-based buyer was 7 percent. This statistic clearly shows that private retail investors based in California are …
