Real Estate

If you’re peeking at the news between slats in your fingers, scared to see where the S&P 500 sits or what’s happening with the NASDAQ, the Dow and the price of oil, you’re quite obviously not alone. Each day is a frightening new one, and no one – not even economists – are quite sure what’s going to happen next.

It’s always satisfying to look back and enjoy your professional successes. While I see nothing wrong with patting yourself on the back and basking in well-earned personal kudos, I have found that, from time to time, we must also remember where we’ve fallen short. Thinking about past mistakes certainly keeps me humble. More importantly, I’m almost always able to learn something from my missteps. After all, the more insight and information I can gather about why I was wrong about something, the more accurate I will be in the future.

Davis, Calif. -- Regency Centers, a national owner, operator and developer of grocery-anchored and community shopping centers, closed on the acquisition of Oak Shade Town Center, a 103,762-sq.-ft. neighborhood shopping center anchored by Safeway, Rite Aid and OfficeMax in Davis, Calif. The center is located within a mile of the University of California, Davis.

The property was purchased on August 18 for $35 million from the center’s original owner. 

 

Indianapolis -- Electronics and appliances retailer Hhgregg said Friday it will open 14 new stores in the Chicago area on Sept. 15.

Chicago is a new market for Hhgregg, and with the opening of 14 new stores, it will become the company’s largest market.
 

Foothill Ranch, Calif. -- The Wet Seal reported Thursday that net income for the quarter ended July 30 rose to $2.2 million from $1.6 million.

Sales rose to $148.8 million, compared with $131.5 million a year earlier.  Same-store sales increased 6%, the strongest second-quarter comps since 2005, according to the company.

Looking ahead, Wet Seal said it plans to spend $17 million to $18 million in fiscal 2011 on construction of new stores or remodeling of existing stores upon lease renewals and/or store relocations.
 

Hoffman Estates, Ill. -- Sears Holdings Corp. reported Thursday that its losses for the second quarter widened more than expected to $146 million, compared with a loss of $39 million in the year-ago period.

The operator of Sears and Kmart stores cited aggressive merchandise markdowns as one reason for the poor performance. This is the second consecutive quarterly loss of the company, and its fourth in the last five quarters.

Look for a big number out of Walmart come early October when it discloses 2012 expansion plans for smaller formats in conjunction with the company’s fall analysts’ meeting. Here’s how you can tell. Reading between the lines on the company’s second quarter earnings call transcript Walmart U.S. president and CEO Bill Simon touted the fact that the return on investment for Neighborhood Market stores is now the same as Walmart supercenters. Recall, in the past the rationale for the slow expansion pace of the 40,000-sq.-ft.