By Andrea Riquier
Commercial real estate in large urban areas will be the big winner from the tax scheme aimed at boosting investment in needy areas, according to an analysis released in November.
By Erika Morphy
With a Republican-controlled Senate and a Democrat-controlled House of Representatives, no significant commercial real estate-related legislation is expected to pass, according to a GlobeSt.com analysis reported Nov. 7. Among the issues expected to stall: additional deregulation, further loosening of Dodd-Frank and more tax changes.
By Michael Gerrity
According to new research by global property consultant CBRE, more commercial real estate investment capital crossed U.S. borders in both directions during H1 2018, with foreign inflow up by 29% from the first half of 2017, and U.S. outflow up by 15% in H1 of 2018.
On net, the U.S. commercial real estate market had a capital surplus of roughly $12 billion. Savvy foreign investors have several strategies to mitigate foreign exchange risk when acquiring U.S. assets, one of which is purchasing forward contracts to hedge against U.S. dollar depreciation.
French company Unibail-Rodamco's acquisition of Westfield, which included a $7.7 billion shopping mall portfolio, elevated inbound capital flows from REITs and France, as well as foreign retail acquisitions, to record highs.
CBRE further reports the cost of hedging against U.S. dollar depreciation is rising worldwide, reducing effective yields for many foreign investors, despite the continuing attractiveness of the U.S. market in growth and liquidity terms. Inbound capital flows have eased in the past 24 months, providing more opportunities for domestic investors.
By Michael Tucker
"The key word for real estate's future performance is transformation, in technology, in generational choices and in a reconfiguration of preferences related to geography and property types," said ULI Global CEO W. Edward Walter. "The market shift, which will continue to play out over the next several years, is being fueled by consumers and tenants changing the way they shop and live, what they demand of their spaces and by new technologies that will enable real estate to be more flexible and responsive to users' needs."
By Michael Tucker
The North American Free Trade Agreement's likely replacement, the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, should increase U.S. commercial property market demand by decreasing uncertainty about trade, said CBRE, Los Angeles.
By William Maher
Real estate economists continue to have a generally bullish outlook for the U.S. economy, capital markets, and real estate fundamentals. Overall, expectations have improved since the prior forecast in March 2018, and the strong second-quarter gross domestic product (GDP) growth rate of 4.2 percent was fresh in forecasters’ minds as they weighed in on future years. Based on this forecast, the U.S. economy will easily surpass the current record for length of expansion (120 months) in mid-2019. Consistent with a strong economy, key real estate metrics—such as NCREIF Property Index (NPI) returns and transaction volumes—moved moderately higher in this survey. While expectations have improved, the survey was completed prior to recently announced tariffs by the United States and China that could curtail growth in 2019 and possibly beyond. While there are many potential outcomes for the current trade dispute, escalated tariffs with China could dampen the next round of forecasts in April 2019.
Written by Michael Tucker
The national office market continues to improve, largely due to a strong job market with just a 3.9 percent unemployment rate, reported Transwestern, Houston.
By Michael Tucker
Commercial real estate executives see "balanced and stable" market conditions despite growing concerns the market could be nearing the end of its current cycle, the Real Estate Roundtable reported.
Written by Michael Tucker
Commercial real estate asset prices have "plateaued" and transaction volume has moderated as the real estate cycle matures, reported Green Street Advisors, Newport Beach, Calif., and CoStar, Washington, D.C.
The Appraisal Institute today announced its opposition to proposed federal legislation that would reduce the requirements for appraisals in major Small Business Administration loan programs.
The Appraisal Institute objects to the provisions of H.R. 6347, the 7(a) Real Estate Appraisal Harmonization Act, and H.R. 6348, the Small Business Access to Capital and Efficiency Act, both of which would adjust upward the real estate appraisal thresholds for SBA loan programs. An appraisal threshold is the amount of a real estate transaction above which an appraisal is required.
