Feb 21
Multifamily units are driving the gains in overall housing starts last month as more apartment projects were initiated. But single-family housing starts fell 2.8% in August to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.076 million units, their second consecutive month of decline, the Commerce Department reported Tuesday. While single-family starts dropped in the West and …
Feb 17
Tech firms may be embracing remote work in a big way since the pandemic, but they’re still buying up office buildings too. Google is still placing big bets in the office sector. The company just announced it’s purchasing an office building in New York City for $2.1 billion, the priciest sale of a single U.S. …
Feb 16
How will commercial real estate needs change in the next five to 10 years? How has the COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the change? And what’s the implication for cities? Those questions were top of mind as the National Association of REALTORS®’ inaugural C5 Summit(link is external), a commercial real estate conference, kicked off Monday in New …
Feb 16
If commercial real estate lags behind residential in adoption of technology, it’s not for lack of investment in the sector. In the first half of 2021, equity and debt investment in U.S. proptech totaled $8.5 billion(link is external), surpassing the total amount of capital invested in 2020, according to GCA, an adviser in the proptech …
Feb 15
The future of office real estate, post-pandemic, remains unknown. Office workers have proved they can be productive working remotely. Does it make sense for them to return to the office? And what will it take for them to do so? “It won’t be the hub-and-spoke model, which companies didn’t do” in the past, said Doug …
Feb 15
Friday marks the first day of the new fiscal year for the federal government, a consequential date for a raft of programs and government funding. With hours to spare Thursday evening, Congress sent President Joe Biden a nine-week government funding extension. The bill continues funding at current levels through Dec. 3 and includes a reauthorization …
Feb 13
Fannie Mae announced new measures in response to growing concerns about aging infrastructure that have followed since the deadly Champlain Towers South condo building collapse in Surfside, Fla. Fannie Mae issued temporary requirements that prevent the purchase of mortgages secured by condo and cooperative units with significant deferred maintenance. The new requirements take effect on Jan. …
Feb 10
A Miami condo collapse in June raised questions about the stability of home and condo foundations. Advise clients to heed these warnings. Key Takeaways: When the 13-story Champlain Towers South building collapsed in the town of Surfside, Fla., earlier this year, municipalities in the area speeded up planned inspections, and owners of other coastal condominiums …
Feb 09
Keep your eye on Elkhart-Goshen, Ind.—it may be the best market in the U.S. for homeowners and investors, according to the latest Wall Street Journal/realtor.com® Emerging Housing Markets Index. The index, which covers 300 of the largest metro areas in the U.S., weighs several housing variables, including the state of the housing market, economic vitality, …
Feb 08
Companies are eager to bring their employees back to the office, but a delay in office equipment could postpone those returns even more. Delays for commercial desktop computers and other equipment are reportedly surging. “We are looking at up to 120 days’ wait for some large enterprises if they have specific components required, and right …
Feb 07
The COVID-19 pandemic has hit many sectors of commercial real estate hard. But the sector is bouncing back. Investors purchased a record amount of commercial real estate in the third quarter, The Wall Street Journal reports. But office buildings and shopping malls aren’t behind the boom, as they typically are. Instead, some of the biggest …
Feb 06
A shortage of skilled construction workers is a major culprit behind weakened housing supply and housing affordability in the new-home market, according to a new report by the Home Builders Institute. “The construction worker shortage has reached crisis level. The construction industry needs more than 61,000 new hires each month if we are to keep …
