NPR, May 21, 2018–Roben FarzadThe seas are rising, frequently flooding the streets even when no storms are on the horizon. But that hasn’t stopped foreign investors from shelling out big dollars for Miami real estate.
Category: Top National News

The Long View: Why Real Estate Tech Won’t Kill the Middleman
The Real Deal New York, May 22, 2018–Konrad PutzierNot too long ago, it seemed like the real estate business was about to enter a new era. To some observers, websites like Zillow and Trulia or office equivalents 42Floors and LoopNet threatened to put brokers out of business. Fast forward a few years, and the opposite seems to be taking place: well-funded startups are currently in a quest to add more and more intermediaries to real estate deals.

Stability Encumbers CMBS Market
Commercial Property Executive, May 22, 2018–Paul FiorillaForged out of crisis and sharpened during a cycle of frenetic activity, the commercial mortgage-backed securities market is struggling to adjust to a period of relative calm.

Cities Now Use Taxes to Fight Blight. Is It Working?
Governing Magazine, May 14, 2018–J. Brian CharlesSome cities are turning to vacant property taxes to nudge property owners of both retail and residential spaces to lease, develop or sell their properties before a short-term vacancy turns into what some cities see as blight.

In the Pipeline: Navigating This Multifamily Sellers’ Market
HousingWire, May 11, 2018–Jeremiah JensenThe multifamily market is in on hold as far new starts go with the exception of an odd permitting blip registered over the course of March, in which permit numbers spiked by 19%. That aside, researchers are predicting a slowdown in new construction starts as the market is full-up on Class-A product, and construction costs don’t allow for developers to build Class-B product.

The Time May Be Right for More M&A in the REIT Sector, Analysts Say
National Real Estate Investor, May 15, 2018–Mary Diduch There are several large proposed real estate investment trust mergers in the books already in 2018, but analysts in the space say the activity may not be done yet.

Why Universities Became Big-Time Real Estate Developers
Slate Magazine, May 11, 2018–Henry GrabarA university is now the largest employer in two-thirds of America’s 100 largest cities and they have enthusiastically seized more economic and urban development responsibilities.

These 95 Apartments Promised Affordable Rent in San Francisco. Then 6,580 People Applied
New York Times, May 12, 2018–Emily BadgerThe development, Natalie Gubb Commons, was reserved for households with incomes up to 50 percent of the local median. The applications were open for three weeks last fall, and 6,580 households applied for a chance to rent there, or nearly 70 for each unit.

Economists See Less Risk of Economic Downturn Over The Next Year
MarketWatch, May 12, 2018–Gregg RobbEconomists have trimmed their odds of an economic downturn through early 2019, according to the latest survey of professional forecasters released by the Philadelphia Fed on Friday.

‘Wonder Woman 2’ to Film at Alexandria’s [Va.] Dead Landmark Mall
Washington Business Journal, May 3, 2018–Michael NiebauerResurrecting a dead mall, even if only for a short time, is a job for an Amazonian princess. “Wonder Woman 2,” the sequel to the smash 2017 hit movie, will film at the shuttered Landmark Mall in Alexandria, Va.