By Michael Tucker

Cushman & Wakefield, Chicago, reported the recession that began in March is still being felt in the U.S. office market.

Leading diversified professional services and investment management firm Colliers International Group Inc. (NASDAQ and TSX: CIGI) reveals investors are largely optimistic about a market rebound in 2021, according to its new Global Capital Markets 2021 Investor Outlook. Colliers’ research anticipates a 50 per cent surge in investment activity in the second half of the year, pointing to a broad-based renewal of confidence in the property market as a result of recent vaccine developments and continued government stimulus.

“Based on our global analysis, which gives us a bird’s-eye view of investors’ interests and expected appetite, longer-term tailwinds in the property sector remain intact. With a massive volume of equity raised globally and the need for real assets, investors are eager to deploy pent-up capital and pursue opportunities during the year,” said Tony Horrell, Head of Capital Markets | Global at Colliers International. “We expect to see movement up the risk curve this year, with investors exploring all types of assets from senior care homes to public infrastructure projects.”

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Foreclosures were 57% lower in 2020 than in 2019, reaching a record low of 214,323 filings on residential properties — 0.16% of all housing units — due to the government moratorium, analytics firm ATTOM Data Solutions reported Jan. 14. The highest foreclosure rates were reported in Delaware, Illinois and New Jersey.

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Residential real estate activity remained strong in many fed districts even as home prices increased due to inventory shortages, but commercial activity still struggled amid weak conditions, according to the latest Beige Book released Jan. 13 by the Federal Reserve.

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The Fannie Mae (FNMA/OTCQB) Home Purchase Sentiment Index® (HPSI) fell 1.7 points in November to 80.0, the first decline after three consecutive months of increases. Three of the six HPSI components decreased month over month, with consumers reporting a more pessimistic view of homebuying conditions, including mortgage rate expectations, but a more optimistic view of home-selling conditions and home prices. Moreover, consumers also reported mixed results regarding job loss concerns and household income changes. Year over year, the HPSI is down 11.5 points.

"The HPSI appears to have peaked for now as consumers continue to consider how COVID-19 impacts their ability to buy or sell a home," said Doug Duncan, Senior Vice President and Chief Economist. "This follows the HPSI's recovery of slightly more than half of the loss experienced during the first few months of the pandemic."

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By Jim Berry and Kathy Feucht

The impact of COVID-19 on the global economy and the CRE industry has made 2020 the most memorable year in recent history. CRE companies have needed to digitize operations, close physical facilities due to extensive lockdowns, and prepare for reopening, while ensuring the health and safety of employees and occupiers and considering the financial health of tenants and end users.

By David Kitai

A study of the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on commercial real estate, commissioned by the Building Owners and Managers Association International (BOMA), has found that office users face widespread economic challenges but many remain convinced that in-person workspaces are crucial to their operations. They noted, as well, that landlords and property managers have successfully adapted to new needs during the pandemic.

 ATTOM Data Solutions, curator of the nation’s premier property database and first property data provider of Data-as-a-Service (DaaS), today released its third-quarter 2020 special report analyzing qualified Opportunity Zones established by Congress in the Tax Cuts and Jobs act of 2017 (see full methodology below). In this report, ATTOM looked at 1,737 zones with sufficient sales data to analyze, meaning they had at least five home sales in the third quarter of 2020.

The report found that median home prices increased from the third quarter of 2019 to the third quarter of 2020 in 74 percent of the zones and rose by more than 10 percent in slightly more than half the zones.

Every metro area tracked by the National Association of Realtors® during the third quarter of 2020 saw home prices increase from a year ago, according to NAR’s latest quarterly report, released today.

Due in large part to record-low mortgage rates and depleted nationwide housing inventory, median single-family home prices grew year-over-year in all 181 metropolitan statistical areas1 tracked by NAR, as every measured market showed sales price gains.

Moody’s Analytics today announced new forecasts for commercial real estate (CRE) rents and vacancies, covering eight property types and more than 3,000 submarkets across the United States. The forecasts reflect the latest Q3 data on US CRE markets collected and curated by the Moody's Analytics CRE Solutions group.

Throughout 2020, industrial properties such as warehouses used for storage and distribution of goods have likely benefited from an acceleration of e-commerce sales, even as brick-and-mortar retail floundered amid the coronavirus pandemic. The sector will likely not remain unscathed over the next year as a surge in COVID-19 cases forces further shutdowns and a fall in international trade volumes weighs on the manufacturing industry. Industrial property vacancy rates are expected to rise to 11.8% in 2021, and the sector is predicted to incur its biggest drop in effective rents in 10 years, down 4.5% in 2021.

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 Freddie Mac (OTCQB: FMCC) released the results of its Primary Mortgage Market Survey® (PMMS®), showing that the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 2.78 percent, the lowest rate in our survey’s history which dates back to 1971.

“Mortgage rates hit another record low, the twelfth time this year, due to economic and political ambiguity,” said Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s Chief Economist. “Despite the uncertainty that we’ve all experienced this year, the housing market, buoyed by low rates, continues to be a bright spot.”

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By Michael Tucker

Real Capital Analytics, New York, reported commercial real estate price growth increased at a 1.4 percent annualized pace in September as gains in apartment and industrial sector prices offset declines in retail and office price.

The Trepp CMBS delinquency rate continued to trend notably lower in October. After two huge jumps in May and June, the rate has now declined for four consecutive months.

The CMBS Delinquency Rate in October is 8.28%, a decline of 64 basis points from the September number. About 1.00% of that number represents loans in the 30 days delinquent bucket – down 40 basis points for the month.

By Michael Tucker

The Urban Land Institute, Washington, D.C., said a consensus of real estate economists surveyed expect a short-lived recession and above-average GDP growth in 2021 and 2022.

The Fannie Mae (FNMA/OTCQB) Home Purchase Sentiment Index® (HPSI) increased 3.5 points in September to 81.0, rising for the second consecutive month and continuing the rebound from late spring. Three of the six HPSI components increased month over month, with consumers reporting a substantially more optimistic view of home-selling conditions, expected home price growth, and the labor market, but a more pessimistic view of homebuying conditions and mortgage rate expectations. Year over year, the HPSI is down 10.5 points.

“The HPSI has recovered more than half of the early pandemic-period decline, mirroring the strong home purchase activity of the past few months,” said Doug Duncan, Senior Vice President and Chief Economist. “Consumers’ home price expectations were up strongly this month, with high home prices playing an increasingly – though unsurprisingly – important role in driving both the increase in ‘good time to sell’ sentiment and the decline in ‘good time to buy’ sentiment. Going forward, we believe the wild card to be whether enough sellers enter the market to continue to meet the strong homebuying demand. The home purchase market requires the proper mix of home price growth and continued economic recovery to achieve sustainable levels of housing activity.”

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The COVID-19 pandemic rages on, with the U.S. remaining one of the worst-hit parts of the globe. Other nations have contained the virus or are dealing with more isolated outbreaks. There's no clear end in site for the crisis. The global economy remains gripped by uncertainty and hobbled by measures necessary to contain the spread of the virus.

It's in this context that CBRE is releasing its Global Real Estate Market Outlook 2020 Mid-Year Review report. As it did with its 2020 Real Estate Market Outlook, CBRE has provided NREI an advance look at the report. The slideshow walks through the firm's observations with interactive versions of the charts published in the report.

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The U.S. economy expanded in May and June, but by some measures it already is slowing down, according to data released July 20 by real estate firm JLL. Advance retail sales rose 7.5% between May and June, and industrial production jumped 5.4% during the same period, but consumer sentiment declined in July over fears of increasing COVID-19 cases.

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Home sales increased moderately across most Fed districts, but commercial activity remained at a low level, with reports of mixed or deteriorating conditions — although most tenants reportedly paid rent in June, according to the Federal Reserve's latest Beige Book released July 15. Investment activity was slow to nonexistent across the board.

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Demand for office space is intrinsically linked to the economy; generally in a downturn, office demand drops off as employment levels fall and corporates move into cash preservation mode. The global pandemic has undoubtedly pushed us into a global recession and in the short term this will have a direct impact on office demand. However, in light of the success of wholescale working from home, the question is now being asked – over the longer term, will this be the catalyst for the end of the office? 

This is not the straightforward equation it is often portrayed as; increased working from home does not directly equal less demand for office space. There are a myriad of other factors which need to be looked at, including density, financial returns, productivity and technology. Before examining these factors, it is worth taking a step back to look at the function and purpose of the office from both the employer and employee perspective.

Read more and download the report.