The Lede

D Magazine, Mar. 5, 2018--Ari RastegarInvesting in hard assets can protect against inflation. When an economic shift happens, investors seek to add alternative investments like commercial real estate to their traditional stock, bond and cash portfolios.

National Real Estate Investor, Mar. 1, 2018--David BodamerDollar stores--buoyed by budget-conscious consumers and largely insulated from the rise of e-commerce--have become a popular bet for some net lease investors.

Multi-Housing News, March 5, 2018--Sanyu KyeyuneFannie Mae Multifamily Executive Vice President Jeffery Hayward sat down at MBA's CREF/Multifamily Housing Convention & Expo in San Diego to provide an industry-wide outlook and discuss the GSE's new initiatives for 2018.

National Real Estate Investor, Mar. 6, 2018--Bendix AndersonAs the percentage of vacant apartments creeps higher in cities and towns across the country, more property managers are offering months of free rent to potential residents to get them to sign leases.

Reuters, Mar. 5, 23018--Herbert LashApartment sales in Manhattan fell to the lowest monthly rate in January since February 2012 as a declining trend in city-wide sales both by price and volume emerged, listings and data website CityRealty said on Monday.

Wall Street Journal, Mar. 6, 2018--Esther Fung (subscription)The delinquency rate for securitized loans in the commercial real-estate industry has dropped for eight consecutive months, defying expectations in recent years of a wave of defaults.

National Mortgage News, Mar. 5, 2018--Bonnie Sinnock (subscription)"Many market participants believe that increased conduit leverage is required for the CMBS market to effectively compete for future commercial real estate loans and maintain CMBS conduit issuance at sustainable levels," Fitch Ratings analysts wrote in a report.

National Mortgage Professional, Mar. 2, 2018--Phil HallThe delinquency rate has been in a free-fall for eight consecutive months, a 124 bps drop, and Trepp forecasts that "it is now possible that the rate could break the post-crisis low from February 2016 over the next few months."

Wall Street Journal, Mar. 4, 2018--Keiko Morris (subscription)Financial technology providers are gobbling up Manhattan office space as they expand operations and seek to tap the city's growing tech labor force.

Multi-Housing News, Mar. 7, 2018--Paul FiorillaAt a time when optimism is rampant in the real estate industry and the stock market is near record highs after a massive run-up, economists lived up to their billing as dismal scientists at the National Association of Business Economists annual policy conference in Washington, D.C., last week.

The hotel sector started the year at a healthy pace, but supply growth will likely peak later this year, analysts say.

The commercial mortgage-backed securities delinquency rate dropped again in February, marking the eighth consecutive month of improvement, reported Trepp, New York.

The new tax law and an increasingly competitive employment market are reshaping companies' office needs--and the potential implications for investors are significant--said Marcus & Millichap, Calabasas, Calif.

Since 2000, homeownership has declined in a vast majority of America's biggest cities, said Trulia, San Francisco.

Commercial real estate investors feel more optimistic now than a year ago, the CBRE Americas Investor Intentions Survey said.

Commercial real estate transaction volume slipped 0.5 percent in the fourth quarter to $117.4 billion, said Real Capital Analytics, New York.