THE NET LEASE DRUG STORE REPORT Q3 2013 DRUG STORE PROPERTIES MEDIAN ASKING CAP RATES
MARKET OVERVIEW
Tenant Walgreens
Q4 2012 (Previous) 6.40%
Q3 2013 (Current) 5.75%
Basis Point Change -65
CVS
6.60%
6.07%
-53
Rite Aid
9.00%
8.00%
-100
Above numbers include properties with all lease lengths.
DRUG STORE PROPERTIES ON THE MARKET
Tenant Walgreens
Q4 2012 (Previous) 86
Q3 2013 (Current) 156
Percentage Change 81.4%
CVS
30
44
46.7%
Rite Aid
38
30
-21.1%
DRUG STORE PROPERTIES MEDIAN ASKING PRICE Tenant Walgreens
Median Asking Price $6,547,689
Median Price Per Foot $452
CVS
$4,519,992
$395
Rite Aid
$3,487,955
$312
Cap rates in the net lease drug store sector compressed significantly from the fourth quarter of 2012 to the third quarter of 2013. Properties tenanted by Walgreens, CVS and Rite Aid experienced cap rate compression of 65, 53 and 100 basis points respectively during this time frame. Specifically, cap rates for Walgreens and CVS properties built between 2011 and 2013 compressed by 25 basis points in the last three quarters. Part of the compression is derived from the lack of net lease property supply as owners are able to hold and refinance at lower interest rates from the original acquisition date. Drug store properties continue to be at the forefront of investor demand as evidenced by the 102 basis point premium to the net lease retail market in the third quarter of 2013. Over $1 billion of drug store transactions occurred in the third quarter of 2013, which represents the largest volume of any quarter in the past three years. Despite the significant decrease in cap rates throughout the drug store sector, the supply of properties tenanted by Walgreens and CVS increased by 76%. The overall increase in supply to the drug store sector is attributed to sellers adding older or properties with short lease terms to the market in attempt to take advantage of the low cap rate environment in this sector. Inversely, the supply of Rite Aid properties declined by more than 20% as owners have been more receptive to refinancing and Rite Aid has not recently developed stores. Additionally, the financial position of Rite Aid improved marginally (Standard & Poor’s “B-” to “B”), causing select Rite Aid properties to sell, further decreasing the supply. New construction Walgreens and CVS properties remain in the highest demand amongst investors as they are one of the only net lease products that offer leases with more than longer than 20 years. In the past 12-18 months, Walgreens changed their typical lease length and new construction stores mainly have an initial 20 year lease term compared to 25 years. Cap rates for new construction drug stores are near all-time lows, therefore some investors have altered their acquisition criteria to include older drug store assets to increase yield. In the third quarter of 2013, properties constructed prior to 2007 accounted for 58% of all drug store transactions which represented a 10% increase from the third quarter of 2012. Transaction volume for the remainder of 2013 should remain active as investors are drawn to this asset class. With cap rates for new construction drug store near all-time lows, 1031 Exchange and private investors will continue to be the most active investors in this sector as institutions cannot achieve their return thresholds for long term drug stores in the current market environment.
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