Real Estate

Simon Property Group Agrees to Buy Seattle's University Village Ahead of Its Nov. 5 Earnings Report

Simon Property Group agreed to buy University Village, a nearly 600,000-square-foot open-air center in Seattle, without disclosing a price; Simon reports third-quarter results Nov. 5.

Nov 01, 2026 - 12:14

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Simon Property Group, the Indianapolis-based shopping-center real estate investment trust, has agreed to acquire University Village, an open-air retail and dining center in Seattle, according to a press release issued on Friday, October 30, 2026. A Simon subsidiary signed the agreement, and the transaction is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2026, subject to customary closing conditions.

Neither side disclosed the purchase price. The Seattle Times reported that the King County assessor's office values the property at about $262 million, a figure it said has roughly held steady for the last four years. The assessed value is not the sale price.

The property

University Village sits north of downtown Seattle near the University of Washington and has more than 100 businesses and services, according to the release. Tenants named in the announcement include Apple, RH Gallery, Crate & Barrel, Room & Board, Sézane, Lululemon, Aritzia, Vuori and the restaurant Din Tai Fung.

The center opened in the 1950s. Its current owners began redeveloping it more than three decades ago, when it was an approximately 300,000-square-foot property; it has since grown to nearly 600,000 square feet, General Manager Susie Plummer said in the statement. The Seattle Times reported that the center has been owned by local businessman Stuart Sloan since he and a partner, Matthew Griffin, bought it in the early 1990s.

"University Village is an exceptional retail destination, and we are pleased to welcome it to our portfolio," said Eli Simon, chief executive, president and chief operating officer of Simon Property Group. "This acquisition underscores our focus on owning distinctive, high-quality assets in strong markets."

Plummer said the owners wanted to thank "everyone who has contributed to University Village's success, past and present, throughout its nearly 70-year history." Simon did not say whether it plans changes to the tenant mix or the property, and representatives for both sides did not return requests for comment on Friday, according to the Seattle Times.

Simon's presence in the region

The company already owns several properties in the Puget Sound area, including the Tacoma Mall, The District at Northgate and outlet centers in Tulalip and North Bend, the Seattle Times reported. The deal was first reported by the Puget Sound Business Journal.

Another large retail property in the region may also change hands. Kemper Development said in August that it was exploring a sale of the 5.5 million-square-foot Bellevue Collection, a mixed-use complex in Bellevue, Washington, and later said Eastdil Secured Savills would broker the sale, according to the newspaper.

Shares and earnings date

Simon shares closed at $217.75 on Friday, according to Yahoo Finance data, up about 2.9% from $211.63 a week earlier and within a 52-week range of $173.80 to $238.50. U.S. markets reopen on Monday, November 2.

The company will release its third-quarter results after the market close on Thursday, November 5, and host a conference call and audio webcast from 5:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. Eastern Time that day, according to an earlier Simon announcement.

REIT backdrop

Real estate stocks have gained in recent weeks even as large technology shares sold off. REITs rose for a fourth straight week in the week ended October 30, and 44 REITs had raised their full-year guidance at about the halfway point of the earnings season, an 85% raise rate, according to a weekly review by Hoya Capital published on Seeking Alpha. The review said Treasury yields fell for a fourth straight week, and it described results from data center, hotel, shopping-center, office and self-storage REITs as notable earnings winners, while several mortgage REITs cut or suspended dividends.

The Vanguard Real Estate ETF, a broad REIT fund, closed Friday at $93.94, up about 1.3% from $92.69 a week earlier, Yahoo Finance data show. The 10-year Treasury yield ended Friday at about 4.93%, down from about 4.99% a week earlier.

Borrowing costs for homebuyers eased slightly over the same period. The average 30-year fixed purchase rate fell 2 basis points from a week earlier to 7.10% and the 15-year fixed rate fell 3 basis points to 6.45%, according to Zillow data published by Yahoo Finance on Sunday, November 1, with rates current as of October 30.