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What Those Rate Hikes Really Mean For CRE

The recent rate hike by the Fed will “ultimately benefit” commercial real estate on a long-term basis, according to a pair of industry experts.

“The fundamental intent is to reduce the risk that elevated inflation will become entrenched, forcing the Fed to hike rates more aggressively in the future and potentially sparking a recession, which would clearly be a worst outcome for many sectors including property,” Cushman & Wakefield economists Rebecca Rockey and James Bohnaker write in a new analysis.

Strap In, Building Materials Prices Head Up Again

Leaders in January were lumber and paint. At this point in the building supply chain miseries, if it’s any month, this must be a time for rising prices. That’s what January brought, according to the National Association of Home Builders.

Boat Sales Boost Marina Business During Pandemic

The second-largest owner of U.S. marinas is acquiring the third-largest owner, creating a new powerhouse in this niche real-estate business as boat sales surge during the pandemic.

Centerbridge Partners LP said it is paying about $400 million for Westrec Marinas, which the investment firm will absorb into its own Suntex Marinas.

Valuations of Cold Storage Facilities Are Surging

CommericalEdge reported that plenty more product is under construction, particularly in Dallas-Fort Worth.

Selling 40% higher per square foot than the national CRE average, cold storage properties continue to outperform due to recent lifestyle changes and other factors related to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to CommercialEdge.

Higher Inflation Means More Competition for CRE Assets

There are three factors driving inflation right now, including a housing shortage.

Supply chain problems, labor shortages, and the housing shortage are all fueling inflation to eye-popping levels – and for CRE investors, that will mean greater competition for assets.

U.S. Inflation Seen Hitting Fastest Pace in Four Decades

Economists estimate consumer-price index climbed at fastest pace since 1982 as supply-chain constraints, high demand drove up costs

U.S. inflation is on track to have closed out 2021 near its highest level since 1982 as robust consumer demand exacerbated pandemic-related supply shortages.

Freight Costs Prompt Permanent Changes

Businesses rattled by high logistics costs and freight bottlenecks are extending the workarounds they adopted during the pandemic and taking on new strategies to ease their supply-chain pain in the new year.

Inside the Rise of the Dark Store

Leading dark store companies have raised more than $8 billion in capital over the last few years.

Food delivery services are ubiquitous, but I'm beginning to buy the grocery as a service model now too.

Dollar General is going all-in on a new store concept aimed at more affluent shoppers

Dollar General plans to open 1,000 more upscale stores in chase for wealthier customers

The prolific discount retailer, which operates 18,000 stores across the U.S., plans to roll out 1,000 locations of its pOpshelf concept by the end of fiscal 2025, CNBC reports.

How Retail and Office Owners Can Minimize Vacancy

Retail and office vacancy increased substantially during the pandemic, but there are ways owners can immediately reduce vacancy.

The pandemic upset even the most stable real estate owners.

Modular Construction's Steep Learning Curve Means Experience Matters

On paper, modular construction sounds right for every project, as a sustainable, low-cost and expedited way to develop multifamily and commercial spaces.

In reality, the decision to go with modular construction isn't that simple.

Boom Times Continue for Single Tenant Net Lease, Multi-Tenant Retail

Single tenant net lease sales volume hit $20.7 billion, enjoying its sixth strongest quarter on record in Q3

The single-tenant net lease market and the national multi-tenant retail market will continue to enjoy booming growth as a combination of low interest rates and ample availability of capital make the sectors attractive for investors, according to a new analysis.

Do You Really Need All that Office Space?

Even as vaccination rates grow, companies remain uncertain about when, how — and in some cases, if — workers will return to their pre-Covid office routines.

Data from Google shows that workplace activity in London, New York, and San Francisco is running at half what it was before the pandemic.

New Data Show Few Companies Will Dramatically Reduce Office Footprint

But hybrid work will still be a part of many companies’ plans..

Just nine percent of companies surveyed by CBRE plan to significantly shrink their office portfolios, a figure that’s far less than last year’s 39%.

Of the 185 companies surveyed by the CRE giant in its Spring 2021 Occupier Survey a whopping 85% say they expect employees to spend at least half of their time in a physical office.

Solar Power’s Land Grab Hits a Snag: Environmentalists

MOAPA VALLEY, Nev.—This windswept desert community is full of clean energy supporters including Suzanne Rebich, an airline pilot who recently topped her house with 36 solar panels. About 200 homes generate their own solar energy and a quarter of the local electricity supply comes from hydroelectric power.

Record Number of Builders Report Widespread Material Shortages

All two dozen items tracked by the HMI were listed as in short supply by at least 43% of the builders.

It’s not just lumber prices that are plaguing homebuilders.

The National Association of Home Builders reports that material shortages are now more widespread than at any time since it began tracking the issue in the 90’s. Overall, more than 90% of builders report shortages of appliances, framing lumber and OSB. Exactly 90% said there was a shortage of plywood, while 87% said there was a shortage of windows and doors, according to a May 2021 survey for the NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI).
At least 70% of builders reported 12 items as being in short supply.

New CDC Guidelines Pose Complications for Office Space

When the Centers for Disease Control issued new Covid-19 guidance and said vaccinated people were safe, you’d think that the office space industry would have breathed a sigh of relief. But business is complicated.

Could Sale-Leasebacks Move Beyond Essential Assets?

Ken Hedrick, executive managing director at Newmark, has seen a marked increase in the number of sale-leasebacks transactions this year. And discussions with tenants are increasing about these kinds of transactions.

Office Demand Surges in March

Demand is now just 9% below pre-pandemic levels.

Office demand surged in March, rising 28% from February and 161 percent in Q1 2021, according to the VTS Office Demand Index (VODI). Demand is now just 9% below pre-pandemic levels.

Data Is Great — But It’s Not a Replacement for Talking to Customers

Many companies rely too much on big data and analytics in their hunt for strategic insights. They’d do better if they actually went out and talked to their customers instead, as Toyota and Adobe do, because data is too rooted in what managers already think their customers are interested in.