DECEMBER 7, 2019

Top Stories

Finance & Investment

A View from the North: Takeaways from the Global Property Market Conference and the Toronto Real Estate Forum

By David Bodamer, Editorial Director

For several years conversation in the commercial real estate industry has centered on the unusually long length of the current expansion cycle and how we must be in its late stages. But more than 10 years in, while growth in many fundamentals has slowed, the cycle marches on. That’s led some experts to ask whether we’ve entered a new kind of cycle marked by prolonged periods of low growth, low inflation and low interest rates. Such an environment would prove favorable for continued stability in the commercial real estate sector for the foreseeable future. As one industry insider put it at hte Toronto Real Estate Forum this week, real estate experts are prone to using baseball as an analogy and talking about what inning the industry is in to reflect its place in the cycle. But that analogy is no longer working with this cycle stretching deep into extra innings.

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Retail

Kimco’s Ross Cooper Discusses the Future of U.S. Shopping Centers

By Liz Wolf, Contributing Writer

While not bullet-proof to the struggles of the overall retail sector, open-air and neighborhood shopping centers haven’t faced the same immense struggles that enclosed malls have. Experts agree they’re a different animal, with a tenant mix that’s typically more e-commerce-resilient. Of course, they’ve been hit by bankruptcies like those of Kmart and Toys ‘R’ Us, which left big vacancies to backfill.

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Development

Land Sales Maintain Steady Pace, But Remain Well Short of Pre-Recession Peak

By Beth Mattson-Teig, Contributing Writer

Land sales can be a fickle business. Prime development sites often disappear quickly, while other parcels can languish on the market for years waiting for the right buyer and use. Land sales can also be a good barometer to show what’s ahead for development pipelines and growth opportunities within markets.

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Analysis

Multifamily

Multifamily Investors Are Spending More Capital in Secondary, Tertiary Markets

By Bendix Anderson, Contributing Writer

Multifamily investors are now more likely to spend their money on properties in secondary and tertiary markets rather than in primary markets. “In secondary and tertiary markets… the number of offers that we are generating is much higher than what it was,” says John Sebree, Midwest-based first vice president and national director of the national multi housing group with brokerage firm Marcus & Millichap. “The level of sophistication of those buyers is much higher.”

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Alternative Properties

Outlook Remains Strong for Investment in Single-Family Rentals

By Sebastian Obando, Staff Writer

The single-family rental (SFR) market continues to benefit from strong demand and rental growth, according to industry sources. In high-growth markets including Texas or Florida, SFR yields after expenses now average in the 4- to 5-percent range, according to Douglas Bendt, president of Bendt Enterprises, a consulting firm based in Boulder, Colo. (Bendt does note that gross yields on investment have declined somewhat in markets that have been popular with investors, including Atlanta and Phoenix).

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Finance & Investment

TD Bank’s Head of CRE Business Gregg Gerken Offers an Outlook on 2020 Lending

By Beth Mattson-Teig, Contributing Writer

A subsidiary of Canada’s Toronto-Dominion Bank, TD Bank, N.A. is one of the top 10 largest banks in the U.S. with an estimated asset value of $1.4 trillion. TD Bank is an active commercial real estate lender across all property types. The bank expanded its commercial real estate lending by 6.8 percent in 2018, issuing a total of $6.6 billion in new loans and renewals. NREI recently spoke with Gregg Gerken, head of commercial real estate business at TD Bank, to hear his views on the current climate for bank lending and what’s ahead for 2020.

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Commentary

Development

How to Protect Yourself Against Escalating Construction Materials Costs

By Brent Meyer

As a matter of public policy, fighting inflation has not rated very highly on the list of priorities for some time now. Indeed, recent policy measures have sought to stoke inflation—something unimaginable a generation ago. The Federal Reserve professes to maintain an actual inflation target of 2 percent and claims that it would not at all be concerned it we overshot that target.

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White Paper

Alternative Properties

Exclusive Research on HNW Investors: Caution Creeps In

By Beth Mattson-Teig, Contributing Writer

High-net-worth individuals (HNWIs) have emerged as an avid group of commercial real estate investors in recent years. Yet even as allocations to the asset class remain strong, investors are treading carefully amid concerns about slowing growth and the near-term economic outlook. The latest NREI research report on HNWI commercial real estate activity shows a continued healthy appetite to expand commercial real estate holdings.

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Podcast

Finance & Investment

NREI's Common Area, Episode 23

By NREI Staff

In this episode of NREI's Common Area podcast, David Bodamer uncovers the findings from our annual research into the retail sector. Retail has had quite a year with chains closing or restructuring under bankruptcy. Will there finally be light at the end of the tunnel for this struggling sector?

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NREI Wire

New York Investor Files Suit Against Hudson’s Bay, Chairman

Bloomberg

Ortelius Advisors alleges chairman Richard Baker suppressed the retailer's share values.

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