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E-commerce has been gobbling up market share from brick-and-mortar retailers for years and the coronavirus pandemic is accelerating it. UBS estimates that 100,000 stores will close in the next five years and that e-commerce will grow to 25 percent of sales this year from 15 percent in 2019, according to the Wall Street Journal. Meanwhile, the U.S. government will release statistics on retail performance at the end of the week and they are expected to

Count Brookfield Asset Management among the growing number of distressed-debt evangelists. “This is one of the great environments, possibly, to buy distressed debts that may have ever been in existence,” CEO Bruce Flatt said on the company’s first-quarter earnings call Thursday. The firm reported a net loss of $157 million for the first quarter, a stark contrast to the roughly $1.3 billion profit during the same period last year. However, Flatt still struck a mostly

Vornado Realty Trust’s Steve Roth channeled his inner Wordsworth. SL Green’s Marc Holliday went into Call of Duty mode. And Zillow’s Rich Barton went to a galaxy far, far away. Welcome to the most unusual earnings call season, courtesy of the coronavirus. The Real Deal‘s Hiten Samtani caught up with senior reporter E.B. Solomont to discuss her latest feature on highlights from the first-quarter earnings season, the first since the pandemic swept over the market.

State officials have released details on what kind of retailers can start reopening for limited services on Friday. According to guidelines announced Wednesday evening, the businesses that can resume deliveries and curbside pick-up include clothing, electronics, furniture, jewelry, sporting goods, book and office supply stores. Such retailers are required to provide protective equipment to their employees, such as face coverings, and occupancy of all areas of the businesses must not exceed 50 percent of what

Tutor Perini, one of the largest general contractors in the U.S., appears to be the latest company to see a major deal scrapped by the coronavirus crisis. The California-based company announced Wednesday night that talks to acquire it have ended “in light of continuing volatile market conditions.” Tutor Perini didn’t specify the other party in the negotiations, but Reuters reported earlier this year that private equity firm Apollo Global Management had offered to buy the

Rich Barton is walking the talk. Days after the CEO declared during a rosy earnings call that “we have passed peak fear,” Zillow Group filed a prospectus seeking to sell up to $1 billion in stock and convertible senior notes. The company is offering up to 9.2 million shares of its Class C capital stock at a public offering price of $48 per share. At the same time it is also selling $500 million in

UPDATED, May 14, 7:22 p.m.: Miami-Dade and Broward counties can begin to reopen businesses on Monday, May 18. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis announced the reopening on Thursday at Downtown Doral after outlining a reduced number of Covid-19 patients hospitalized and on ventilators. The governor’s executive order allows Miami-Dade and Broward to join the rest of the state in the first phase of reopening. Palm Beach County entered phase one of reopening this past Monday. “Today

Landlords were looking for clarity on eviction policy. Instead they are more confused than ever. Their attorneys say Gov. Andrew Cuomo added to uncertainty with his May 7 executive order revising and extending the state’s ban on evictions and foreclosures for residential and commercial properties. From June 21 through August 20, the ban only applies to certain tenants and appears to bolster landlords’ belief that they can continue sending notices demanding rent — a necessary

Unemployment claims totaled 2.98 million last week. That’s the good news. It was the first dip below 3 million since mid-March, when claims numbered a mere 282,000 (and represented a jump at the time from the usual 210,00 or so). Last week’s tally was down by more than half from the spike to nearly 7 million unemployment claims seen at the end of March, but still well above the peak of 650,000 weekly claims during

Jaws Acquisition, a company founded by Starwood’s Barry Sternlicht, has upsized its IPO after filing a prospectus earlier this week. The special purpose acquisition company plans to raise $600 million — up from $500 million — for a listing on the New York Stock Exchange Thursday, according to Bloomberg. According to SEC filings, the company won’t be in competition with Starwood Capital Group because it won’t target Starwood’s areas of real estate, lodging and energy

The United States’ housing policy response to the coronavirus crisis “leaves significant gaps,” with renters most exposed to the economic fallout, according to a new report from Amherst Capital Management. In addition to one-time stimulus checks and expanded unemployment benefits, housing assistance — including forbearance and eviction protections — has been focused on properties owned by or with mortgages backed by government agencies such as Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and Ginnie Mae, the report notes.

JPMorgan Chase and Fortress Investment Group are among the latest firms to launch funds seeking to raise big money during the pandemic. The asset-management arm of JPMorgan Chase is looking to raise between $2 billions and $3 billion from institutional investors to take advantage of “dislocations” in the real estate market, according to Bloomberg. The vehicle will invest in bonds and loans connected to commercial real estate, with targeted net returns of 10 to 15

A bombshell plea deal involving a former real estate broker that the federal government unsealed Wednesday suggests a years-long trail of bribery between City Councilmember Jose Huizar and a Chinese development firm with a megaproject slated for downtown Los Angeles. The announcement is the most explosive revelation in the unfolding FBI investigation into corruption in city hall that centered around Huizar — former chairman of the powerful Planning and Land Use Management committee — and

Cheat sheet (0:57: I: The end of office as a boring asset) (3:47: II: The future of work) (15:10: III: Owner vs. operator) (28:30 IV: Space as a service) “Greed” was good on Gordon Gekko’s Wall Street. “Boring” was good in the office market in alpha cities such as New York and London – A fully-occupied Class-A office building was about as stable an asset as you could find in real estate, and its predictable

New York’s pause order was mirrored in New York City’s rental market last month. The number of New Yorkers signing new leases plummeted in April by a stunning 71 percent in Manhattan, 67 percent in Brooklyn and 65 percent in Queens from a year ago, according to Douglas Elliman’s monthly rental report. The report, authored by appraiser Jonathan Miller, covers Manhattan, Brooklyn and northwest Queens neighborhoods Long Island City, Astoria, Sunnyside and Woodside. The low

A Manhattan judge has denied tenants class-action status in a rent-overcharge lawsuit — a decision that landlord attorneys hailed as another sign that the courts are safeguarding owners from legislative overreach. Supreme Court Judge Lynn Kotler rejected class certification for tenants suing Remik Holdings, their landlord at 230 West 147th Street. The tenants allege that Remik fraudulently deregulated apartments at their 100-unit building and charged higher rents while receiving tax breaks from the city’s J-51