SRS Real Estate Partners has appointed Ryan Byrne as the leader of retail investments for its south central region, covering Texas, Arkansas, Oklahoma, and Louisiana. Byrne previously worked for a decade as a partner at Byrne Company.
The retail sector has faced predictions of decline over the past 20 years but has shown resilience after challenges such as the pandemic. The Dallas-Fort Worth retail market remains stable with a vacancy rate of 4.8 percent at the end of the second quarter, unchanged from a year earlier. Average asking rents increased from $19.78 per square foot to $20.28 during that period, according to Partners Real Estate.
Byrne discussed his new role and outlook on retail real estate in an interview with The Real Deal.
“It’s going to be a mix of private, institutional, family office type groups. Five-tenant and above, and roughly $10 million in value,” he said when asked about typical deals in his portfolio.
On property types sought by clients, Byrne explained: “Not necessarily. Grocery-anchored is a really attractive space, but we do power centers. We do some of these lifestyle centers, where it could be a $30 million deal, but we’re in a $250,000 average income market with high home values. Some of those deals might not have a main anchor, but it’s going to be high-end shops and high-end restaurants.”
Reflecting on recent performance in the sector despite economic pressures and store closures like Forever 21 and Party City: “We’ve been lucky in the retail space. We had Covid, which caused some problems with some of these shopping centers. We had the Amazon effect that came in. We even had higher interest rates. Retailers weathered the storm on every single one of these.”
He added: “People have realized that retail is not going anywhere. Americans, just by habit, we like to go and shop. We like to go to restaurants. We like to walk in a store. We like to be social and be around people.”
Byrne described varied investment strategies among buyers: “It really can be all of the above. There are some groups that are going to be short-term value-add buyers that are going to buy and try and push rents, redevelop it, backfill some vacant space and then go sell it pretty quickly… And there’ll be other groups that are saying, ‘Hey, I’m just a long term holder… I just want cashflow longterm.’”
On handling large vacancies left by big-box stores such as Party City or Tuesday Morning: “People used to get scared of the big box space, but everyone’s realizing they’re getting backfilled quickly… It can be reinvented… But there’s always new tenants especially in Texas which is one of the strongest markets.”
When asked who fills those spaces now—experiential tenants or fitness companies—Byrne noted: “It all depends on the location… That’s what’s so great and unique about retail: every center has a life of its own.”
He also spoke about owners’ approaches for properties with strong daily traffic: “Everyone kind of has their model… but properties that have a lot of daily traffic with restaurants and a little more life to it… tend to do pretty well… So it brings life at night and at day.”
Recent trends show retailers adapting creatively amid closures; for example, Dillard’s recently purchased a mall for $34 million, while Texas gyms have expanded into former retailer spaces. In Houston, Spirit Halloween found opportunities after big-box closures.
