JULY 5, 2019

Top Story

Finance & Investment

By John Egan, Contributing Writer

On June 27, publicly-traded Howard Hughes Corp. announced it was exploring strategic alternatives in an effort to narrow its nagging NAV gap. Options on the table include a sale, joint venture or spinoff of certain assets; recapitalization of the company; reconfiguration of the corporate structure (as a REIT, perhaps); or an outright sale of the company. The likely outcome of the review, according to Hamed Khorsand, principal and researchanalyst at Woodland Hills, Calif.-based stock research firm BWS Financial Inc., would be a go-private deal through a management-led buyout in partnership with an investment fund.

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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 looking 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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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

WeWork's China Rival Is Said to Seek Up to $200 Million U.S. IPO

Bloomberg

Chinses co-working operator Ucommune plans to raise as much as $200 million in a 2020 U.S. IPO.

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Five Must Reads for the CRE Industry Today

By NREI Staff

Forbes looks at what venture capitalist interest in commercial real estate technology means for the industry. Walmart is projecting $1 billion losses for its U.S. e-commerce division, according to Vox. These are among today's must reads from around the commercial real estate industry.

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