Category: Top National News

Commercial Observer, July 23, 2018–Allison StatemanCalifornia is a state prone to natural disasters from earthquakes and mudslides to wildfires. In addition to myriad other effects, this has become a real estate concern.

HousingWire, July 20, 2018–Alcynna LloydThe Rent Relief Act, introduced by Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., and endorsed by Sens. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., and Maggie Hassan, D-N.H., aims to create a new, refundable tax credit, that “puts more money in the pockets” of families, especially at a time when rent prices are outpacing wage growth.

American Banker, July 23, 2018–Andy Peters (subscription)Flush with capital and anxious about the impact of rising interest rates on monthly loan payments, more commercial real estate investors than ever are paying off their bank loans before they mature.

National Real Estate Investor, July 24, 2018–Patricia KirkWhile new office construction has been robust so far in 2018, next year developers might begin pulling back, according to David Bitner, head of Americas capital markets research with Cushman & Wakefield. He cited rising construction costs, concerns about the end of the real estate cycle and zoning issues as the reasons.

Wall Street Journal, July 24, 2018–Esther Fung (subscription)Chinese investors have become net sellers of U.S. commercial real estate for the first time in a decade, reversing a years-long trend when these buyers spent tens of billions of dollars and helped boost the market for hotels and other properties.

Forbes, July 16, 2018–Evan GentryEven though CRE loans celebrated a record-breaking year in 2017, according to a Mortgage Bankers Association report, the CRE market also started to see slowing property value growth and decelerating property sales.

Des Moines Register, July 13, 2018–Kevin HardyEric Scharnhorst, author of the Mortgage Bankers Association report, says an oversupply of parking spaces means city leaders have the chance to rethink the uses for many dedicated parking areas, which are often in coveted parts of town.

Wall Street Journal, July 13, 2018–Ruth Simon, Richard Rubin (subscription)A new Marriott hotel in the Phoenix area might seem a world apart from an affordable-housing complex in the Watts neighborhood of Los Angeles, but both are poised to benefit from the new “opportunity zone” program created in last year’s federal tax overhaul.

Commercial Observer, July 18, 2018–Matt Grossman The Commercial Observer said the most influential commercial real estate finance leader last year wasn’t yet a jet-setting investment manager or the executive behind a secretive private portfolio but the most traditional of entrants: Doug Mazer, the chief of Wells Fargo’s real estate capital markets team.

Real Estate Weekly, July 18, 2018Canadian institutional fund manager Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec made a $250 million preferred equity investment into Avison Young.