JULY 6, 2019

Top Stories

Finance & Investment

CRE Property Prices Still Reaching for the Peak

By Beth Mattson-Teig, Contributing Writer

Ten years into this expansion cycle and properties are continuing to post impressive price growth. Property price growth rose 1.1 percent in May from April, the biggest monthly increase since early 2015, according to the latest U.S. National All-Property Index tracked by research firm Real Capital Analytics (RCA).

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Retail

Domestic Private Investors Become the Fastest-Growing Buyer Pool for Multi-Tenant Retail Centers

By Sebastian Obando, Staff Writer

Private investors have become the fastest growing buyer pool for retail centers due to low interest rates and an increase in 1031 and 1033 exchange activity, according to research from brokerage firm Stan Johnson Company and Real Capital Analytics (RCA).

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Alternative Properties

CMBS Loan Defaults Are Starting to Rise in the Student Housing Sector

By Bendix Anderson, Contributing Writer

The experts at Fitch Ratings are getting worried about the student housing sector.

“Delinquencies have definitely crept up over time,” says Melissa Che, senior director of CMBS for Fitch, based in New York City. “They have deteriorated pretty substantially.”

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Analysis

Finance & Investment

Pension Funds Expect Near-Term Lift in CRE Performance

By Beth Mattson-Teig, Contributing Writer

Pension funds that are l ooking to squeeze more yield out of commercial real estate have a more positive outlook for near-term performance. Results from the second quarter Pension Real Estate Association (PREA) Consensus Forecast show a subtle rise in sentiment regarding total return expectations over the near term. On average, respondents believe the NCREIF Property Index will reach a 6.3 percent total return this year, followed by moderating growth of 4.9 percent in 2020 and 4.2 percent in 2021.

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Multifamily

In Spite of High Level of New Construction, Apartment Rents in Dallas Continue to Grow

By Bendix Anderson, Contributing Writer

Tens of thousands of new apartments are scheduled to open this year in Dallas-Fort Worth—one of the busiest cities in the U.S. for new apartment construction. A strong, diverse local economy is helping Dallas absorb those new units. Even though the vacancy rate continues to rise towards 9.0 percent, rents are still growing faster than inflation.

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Finance & Investment

How Glenn Rufrano Became the CRE Industry’s Mr. Fix-It

By John Egan, Contributing Writer

He helped fix ailing Centro and what is now VEREIT. He assisted Cushman & Wakefield in charting its global expansion path. How did Glenn Rufrano become the commercial real estate industry's go-to problem-solving specialist?

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Retail

Can AI-Backed Security Cameras Help Mall Landlords Save Money?

By Sebastian Obando, Staff Writer

Mall owners are increasingly focusing on new security camera technologies to boost safety while saving on property management expenses.

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Commentary

Finance & Investment

Buying Contaminated Property Without Liability

By Matthew E. Cohn

For years, potential buyers would often walk away from contaminated properties because of CERCLA’s harsh liability—liability is strict (without fault) and joint and several (any one party can be liable for all). Mere ownership of contaminated property is a basis for liability under CERCLA. For many years, an owner’s best chance to escape liability was the “innocent landowner” defense, which requires an owner to show a lack of knowledge of the contamination after a diligent, pre-acquisition inquiry into the environmental condition of the property.

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NREI Wire

China's Buildings Are Watching How People Shop, Cook and Steal

Bloomberg

Fintech is changing the way people borrow, invest and pay for things. But there’s another type of technology -- most noticeably in China -- that’s altering the way urban dwellers interact with their living and shopping environments.

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