Newmark’s Sean Crosby on Retail’s Post-Pandemic Rise

At Connect Retail West 2026, scheduled for Nov. 17 in Los Angeles, panelists in the “Capital Flows, Transactions, and Valuation Trends in Western Retail” will discuss how evolving tenant demand, leasing trends, and asset positioning are influencing transactions and shaping the next wave of retail investment. For Sean Crosby, managing director and EVP at Newmark, the focus will be on valuations, a specialty he has pursued for the past 25 years. Here, he provides Connect CRE with a run-up to the discussion.

Q: It’s been an interesting half-decade since the depths of the pandemic, when brick-and-mortar retail faced an uncertain long-term outlook. From a valuation standpoint, what factors have led to the sector’s current status as one of the strongest property sectors?

A: I think during the pandemic, the human population got a taste of what it felt like to be indavertently “incarcerated” for a significant period of time and got a dose of reality on how much they/we need social interaction as a species. Once we emerged from the pandemic period, most people were starving for such activity. they were done with solely Amazon or DoorDash drop-offs. As such, this created more opportunities for retailers and restaurant as experiential/entertainment tenants.

From an investment standpoint, the decline in the office sector (which has yet to really recover from COVID and not sure to what degree it does; other than submarket-specific niches) has attracted more interest and capital to retail investment and hence a more competitive buyer bidding environment leasing to lower cap rates and higher pricing for many good quality assets.

Q: Within the universe of Southern California retail, what sectors have proven to be the most resilient post-pandemic, and where do you see ongoing challenges?

A: The good quality lifestyle centers with strong draws, e.g., theaters, restaurants, etc. as well as good quality grocery-anchored centers, are the big resiliency winners. High street retail has also bounced back strongly, e.g., Beverly Hills Triangle with rents over and above pre-COVID high watermark levels.

Q: Do factors beyond property-level considerations affect valuations, e.g., local and regional economic conditions? How have these contributed to the valuations we see today?

A: Definitely. Much of the success of retail is based on the consumer patronage which is largely dependent on location and consumer spending patterns of the trade area population. As I’m sure the retailer speakers will better opine to, local and regional economic trends and conditions make up a large part of site location decisions. Better tenant selection and better location characteristics (allowing for good backfill probability should a tenant not succeed) contribute to strong valuations via rents and cap rate selection.

Q: You have extensive experience in appraising other property types as well. How does retail compare to apartments, office or industrial for retaining or recovering its pre-pandemic values?

A: I’d probably have to say I’ve been more retail focused for most of my career and especially in the past 25 years while at CBRE and Newmark. I do a little office but know the impact from COVID and the tough road back on what the recovery looks like. DTLA is still in pretty bad/soft shape but markets like Century City are experiencing high watermark rents. This sector is very location- and product-type specific. I think low-rise creative office is still a strong niche if it’s the right location, e.g. Culver City, Playa Vista.