The Crexi Commercial Real Estate Podcast | CRE Insights & Strategies
Jaidyn Smith on Shopping Centers: Tight Vacancy, Active Buyers, Real Deals
Why It Matters
Understanding the shift toward multi‑tenant shopping centers is crucial for investors navigating a market with limited vacant space and heightened competition. Smith’s insights into lease complexities and the value of collaborative platforms like social media provide actionable guidance for brokers and investors aiming to capitalize on emerging opportunities.
Key Takeaways
- •Vacancy rates tighten while buyer demand stays strong.
- •Multi‑tenant shopping centers require complex lease and CAM analysis.
- •Social media expands broker networks and sources off‑market deals.
- •Online auctions provide price discovery for secondary‑market retail assets.
- •Friedman’s integrated resources accelerate shopping‑center transaction cycles.
Pulse Analysis
The episode opens with a clear picture of today’s retail real‑estate climate: vacancy rates are compressing even as capital continues to chase high‑quality shopping centers. Jaden explains that investors are motivated by stable cash flow and the resilience of essential‑use tenants, making active buyer demand a defining feature of the market. This backdrop matters because tighter vacancies signal stronger lease terms and higher cap rates, while also prompting owners to position assets for strategic exits before market conditions shift.
Jaden’s career trajectory illustrates how expertise in single‑tenant triple‑net leases can evolve into mastery of multi‑tenant shopping center transactions. Early work with quick‑service restaurants taught her the fundamentals of rent escalations, maintenance responsibilities, and landlord‑tenant risk allocation. Transitioning to centers anchored by family‑dollar stores revealed the added layers of CAM charges, common‑area reimbursements, and tenant mix considerations that drive valuation. Understanding these nuances is crucial for brokers and investors seeking to price, negotiate, and manage complex retail portfolios effectively.
Technology and networking emerge as the episode’s third pillar. Jaden highlights how LinkedIn and Instagram turn regional brokers into national deal‑makers, delivering off‑market opportunities and rapid buyer introductions. She also shares a recent success using Crexi’s online auction platform to market a mid‑tier downtown storefront, achieving broader exposure, transparent price discovery, and a faster close. Coupled with Friedman’s in‑house property‑management, construction, and financing teams, these tools streamline the end‑to‑end process, giving advisors a competitive edge in a crowded CRE landscape.
Episode Description
Jaidyn Smith of Friedman Real Estate covers the intricacies of multi-tenant retail investment sales and shopping center value-add strategies.
The Crexi Podcast connects commercial real estate (CRE) professionals with industry insights built for smart decision-making. In each episode, we explore the latest trends, innovations and opportunities shaping commercial real estate, because we believe knowledge should move at the speed of ambition and every conversation should empower professionals to act with greater clarity and confidence.
Jaidyn Smith started her CRE career almost by accident (a friend's cold call changed the trajectory she thought she was on) and six years later she's closing multi-tenant shopping center deals for US and international investors across Michigan, Ohio, Texas, and beyond. She specializes in the kinds of transactions that require patience, creativity, and a willingness to stay on the phone when things go sideways.
In this episode, Jaidyn joins host Shanti Ryle to talk about how she built her business from a list of KFCs and dollar stores, what actually happens between LOI and closing, why landlords currently have the upper hand, and what she sees coming for retail in 2026.
Jaidyn Smith's background and path to Friedman Real Estate
From radiology school to residential to commercial CRE
The moment she knew commercial real estate was it
Starting out in single tenant net lease: KFCs, Wendy's, Chase Banks
What triple net leases taught her about the fundamentals
The Family Dollar cold call that opened the door to shopping centers
What that first client saw in her — and what she proved
Joining Friedman Real Estate: resources, culture, and a new chapter
Social media as a business development tool, not a vanity play
The 1031 buyer who found her off-market deal through a single post
Crexi Auction: price discovery, on-market exposure, expanded buyer pool
Structuring the day: to-do lists, phones from 10 to 2, LOIs at end of day
State of retail: vacancy at 4.6%, more openings than closings
Concepts on the rise: pickleball, golf sims, and repurposed drug store boxes
Top 40 MSAs, Texas development, and where she's expanding next
Value add in practice: under-market rents, vacancies, cap ex, parking lots
TI, free rent, and how landlords are getting creative to keep tenants
Demand exceeds supply: landlords have the upper hand right now
Bid-ask gaps and how to have the tough pricing conversation
Between LOI and closing: estoppels, site visits, and surprises
The burst pipe, the cockroaches, and the deals that closed anyway
Working with international investors: eyes, ears, and boots on the ground
How trust and follow-through build a repeat client base
Women in CRE: underestimated, more visible, building community
Co-founding Ladies Leading CRE with Chassidy Goolsby
Advice for anyone entering commercial real estate: just get started
Rapid fire: $50M, worst advice, and retail optimism
About Jaidyn Smith:
Jaidyn Smith is a nationally recognized commercial real estate advisor known for her relationship-driven approach and consistent execution across single-tenant net lease and multi-tenant retail investment sales. Over time, she has become increasingly focused on assisting investment sales clients with multi-tenant shopping centers, successfully completing a number of both on-market and off-market transactions.
She works with U.S. and international investors on acquisitions and dispositions, advising on pricing strategy, timing, and long-term value creation. With a background in sales and investor advisory, Jaidyn is known for her responsiveness, negotiation skill, and ability to simplify complex transactions.
Jaidyn remains deeply engaged in the commercial real estate community through ongoing education, investor seminars, and industry organizations, including ICSC, CREi, CREW and Ladies Leading CRE. She also volunteers with the Leader Dogs for the Blind, The Chaldean American Chamber of Commerce and the Entrepreneurs' Organization of Michigan.
For show notes, past guests, and more CRE content, please check out Crexi’s blog.
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Crexi is reimagining commercial real estate with an AI-powered platform built to deliver smarter, more efficient solutions at every stage of the deal lifecycle. From real-time data and market insights with Crexi Intelligence, to targeted property marketing and seamless deal management through Crexi PRO, and a transparent, time-bound bidding experience with Crexi Auction— Crexi enables users to evaluate opportunities, maximize exposure, and close with speed and confidence. To date, Crexi has subsidized over $2.74 trillion in property value, 26 billion square feet listed, and supports a growing community of more than 23 million yearly users.
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