Weekly Perl: A Commercial Real Estate News Recap
Single-Tenant Retail Rebounds As Private Buyers Dominate
The STNL retail market is rebounding as private investors take center stage amid easing inflation and improved pricing alignment, reports GlobeSt. According to Marcus & Millichap’s latest report, private buyers drove a 15% increase in their market share over the past 12 months. During the same period, institutional, REIT, and entity-level activity declined. Through Q3 2025, private capital made up 71% of dollar volume, followed by foreign buyers (10%) and REITs (9%)...
May your days be merry and bright—but mostly bright
At the final City Council meeting of the year, there was a unanimous vote to have 1,000-square-foot digital signs installed at 16 locations on or near the Promenade. Santa Monica will receive a minimum of $500,000 per sign per year. Given the city’s financial distress, that’s a lot of ka-ching for a little bling...
Report: Barnes & Noble to open 60 stores in 2026
Barnes & Noble is continuing to expand its retail footprint amid a resurgence in brick-and-mortar bookstores.
The bookseller plans to open 60 new locations across the country in 2026, reported USA Today. According to a list obtained by the publication, Barnes & Noble plans to open stores in Ohio, Texas, Florida, Illinois, Colorado, Washington state, California, Virginia, Georgia and Washington D.C., with "several openings" in these states scheduled between now and June 2026...
Retail Outlook 2026 Market Stability Holds Amid Low Development
The US retail sector enters 2026 in solid shape, despite ongoing economic uncertainty and softening consumer demand, reports Marcus&Millichap. Muted leasing in early 2025, driven by tariff concerns, kept vacancy stable due to a limited and constrained development pipeline.
Retail vacancy hovered near 5.0% through 2025, with many metro areas falling below the 4.0% threshold. Open-air centers outperformed malls, where vacancies remain above 9.0%. The gap between anchored and unanchored centers has narrowed significantly since 2020, reflecting long-term supply constraints...
In Pacific Palisades, stores are slow to reopen after January wildfire
Thousands of Pacific Palisades and Los Angeles residents assembled this month for a Christmas tree lighting event at Palisades Village, a retail complex largely unscathed in the fires that tore through the town nearly one year ago.
The event served as a reminder of just how far the community is from recovery. Even without major structural damage, the shopping complex remains closed. Most residents have yet to return to the coastal neighborhood, where construction crews drive most daily activity...
Jack in the Box shut down more than 70 stores with more expected by year's end over financial struggles
Jack in the Box plans to close dozens of restaurants by the end of the year in an effort to cut costs and boost revenue. The franchise said earlier this year it would shutter between 150–200 underperforming stores by 2026, including 80–120 by the end of this year, under a block closure program.
In May, Jack In The Box said it had closed 12 locations, which was followed by another 13 closures by August and 47 more reported in the company's November earnings, according to the Daily Mail...
Trump reschedules marijuana; opens research on medical use, CBD

President Donald Trump has issued an executive order that eases federal regulations on marijuana without legalizing its use and loosens CBD restrictions.
In a new executive order, President Trump has directed U.S. attorney general Pam Bondi to expedite completion of the process of rescheduling marijuana to Schedule III of the Controlled Substance Act.
Previously, marijuana (the part of the cannabis plant containing the psychoactive ingredient THC), had been classified as a Schedule I drug with high abuse potential, no accepted medical use, and lack of accepted safety. Other drugs still classified as Schedule I include heroin, LSD, and MDMA (popularly known as ecstasy)...
Done Deal: Jack in the Box sells Del Taco for $119 million

The nation’s second-largest Mexican quick-serve restaurant officially has new owners.
Jack in the Box Inc. has completed the sale of Del Taco Holdings Inc. to Yadav Enterprises for approximately $119 million in consideration, subject to post-closing working capital and other adjustments. Yadav Enterprises, which operates more than 300 franchise restaurants nationwide, now adds Del Taco’s nearly 600 locations across 17 states to its portfolio...
