|
Real Estate |
Good morning. Mark Twain is said to have once advised: “Buy land, they're not making it anymore.” People like billionaire distiller Tito Beveridge, professional golfer Phil Mickelson and Bill Gates seemed to have listened. They are among the growing crowd of wealthy investors buying land, writes Konrad Putzier. Land sales last year rose faster than any other major type of commercial real estate across the U.S. Demand has been especially strong in fast-growing Sunbelt cities like Miami, Austin and Phoenix. Still, land speculation is much riskier than most commercial real estate investments. “You need to have a lot of guts,” said Sebastian Drapac, chief operating officer of the property investment firm Drapac Capital Partners. While major U.S. cities are still struggling to lure employees back to their desks, workers are filling up office floors again in Asian commercial hubs like Hong Kong and Singapore, write Ben Richardson in Hong Kong, Kosaku Narioka in Singapore and Megumi Fujikawa in Tokyo. Hong Kong’s small apartments, often housing multiple generations, and efficient transport help drive the office revival. The situation is similar in Singapore, which loosened Covid-19-related restrictions in April and stopped requiring people to show proof of vaccination when entering office space. BlackRock, the world's largest money management firm, is opening a satellite office in West Palm Beach to accommodate its head of fixed-income and dozens of other employees, write Deborah Acosta and Angel Au-Yeung. The firm at one point weighed plans for trading desks in the Florida building, which a person familiar with the matter said was already being referred to internally as BlackRock’s “Snowbird office.” It marks the latest in a long line of financial firms that are relocating to or opening satellite offices in South Florida. --Craig Karmin, Real Estate Bureau Chief |
|
| Sunbelt Land Boom Brings Profits, Risks |
|
|
| Demand for land to build homes and warehouses is soaring in cities such as Austin, Texas. PHOTO: JORDAN VONDERHAAR/BLOOMBERG NEWS |
|
|
Wealthy investors are betting on cities such as Miami, Phoenix and Austin, Texas, where demand for land to build homes and warehouses is soaring and the number of vacant sites is running low. In recent years these land investors have enjoyed some very profitable flips. |
|
| Offices Are Bustling Again in Hong Kong, Singapore |
|
|
| Concerns in Asia over Covid-19 are receding despite the persistence of highly infectious Omicron subvariants. PHOTO: PAUL YEUNG/BLOOMBERG NEWS |
|
|
Workers are back in large numbers at offices in major Asian cities like Hong and Singapore. In Singapore, about 70% of workers have returned to the office at city-center building One Raffles Quay, according to an estimate by ARA Trust Management. Major US metros, buy contrast, are still seeing office occupancy remain below 50%. |
|
| BlackRock Opening South Florida ‘Snowbird’ Office |
|
|
| BlackRock has signed an agreement to sublease 5,000 square feet of office space at 360 Rosemary in West Palm Beach, Fla. PHOTO: EVA MARIE UZCATEGUI/BLOOMBERG NEWS |
|
|
The world’s largest money management company will open a satellite office in West Palm Beach to accommodate a top executive and dozens of other employees. Many other financial firms have moved headquarters or opened satallite offices in South Florida in recent years. |
|
|
|
$726,267 | The estimated tax bill for vacant Texas land owned by billionaire Tito Beveridge, had it not qualified as ranchland. Instead, Mr. Beveridge owes property tax of just $2,951. Landowners can afford to let plots sit unused because property taxes for vacant land are typically far lower than for buildings. |
|
|
$18,083 | The average sale price per acre for American land in the second quarter of 2022. The price has doubled over the last two years. |
|
|
$32 | The cost of a bowl of onion soup and lobster macaroni at the Feather & Bone restaurant in Hong Kong. The popular spot is now filling up at lunch hour with workers who are back in the office. |
|
|
📰 Enjoying this newsletter? Get more from WSJ and support our journalism by subscribing today with this special offer. |
|
|
Consumer confidence in the housing market hits the lowest point in over a decade (CNBC) One of the decade's hottest property bond markets is imploding in China (Bloomberg) Tampa city council rejects plans to put rent control on the November ballot (WFTS) |
|
|
Craig Karmin is real-estate news bureau chief. Reach him on Twitter @CraigKarmin or via email at Craig.Karmin@wsj.com. The newsletter is compiled and edited by Will Parker, WSJ housing reporter. Reach him via email at will.parker@wsj.com. |
|
|