Investors spent 2025 quietly cozying back up to Boston-area brick-and-mortar, scooping up well leased shopping centers and strip centers that throw off reliable income. The buying spree signals at least a timeout in the rush to remake suburban retail into life science campuses and suggests many buyers now prefer predictable rent checks over high-octane speculation.
Retail property sales across the Boston region reached about $1.8 billion in 2025, marking a third straight year of gains, according to CoStar. That total was a little more than 3% higher year over year and roughly 13% above the market’s 2023 post-pandemic low. CoStar also reports that investor interest has held broadly steady in recent years, even if overall deal volume still trails the pandemic-era peaks.
Suburban malls sneak back into the spotlight
One of the clearest signs of the shift was the sale of the Watertown Mall at 550 Arsenal St., a 260,867-square-foot center that Alexandria Real Estate Equities bought in 2021 for $130 million and later sold to National Development. County records and local reporting put the resale price at roughly $100 million, about $100.25 million in public filings, according to The Boston Globe.
CoStar reports the mall was about 96% leased at the time of sale, with national anchors including Target, Best Buy, Starbucks and Ulta Beauty. That healthy rent roll helped make it one of Greater Boston’s largest retail trades of 2025 and a tidy example of how strong occupancy can still draw institutional capital even while other property types wobble…