Six Factors to Consider During Due Diligence for Land Development or Redevelopment

Whether you are buying undeveloped land or assessing a property for potential redevelopment, thorough due diligence is critical to good decision-making. With the speed at which today’s commercial real estate market operates, you may face time constraints and you definitely want to limit expenditures related to due diligence — but you don’t want to cut corners.An incomplete understanding of the challenges at the site will limit your ability to scope out the project and could impact …

May 4, 2021Bohler, Content Partner, Development, Features, Midwest

Walker & Dunlop: U.S. Economy Displays Long-Term Signals for Recovery, Growth

Back to Normal? The U.S. economy has improved significantly since April 2020, the peak of the pandemic-induced recession. The national unemployment rate stood at 6.0 percent in March of this year, well below the peak of 14.8 percent in April 2020. Companies were effective in implementing work-from-home technology, keeping unemployment rates for office-based service sectors relatively low. For those with a bachelor’s degree or higher, unemployment rates were only 3.7 percent as of March …

April 27, 2021Content Partner, Features, Leasing Activity, Midwest, Multifamily, Office, Retail, Southeast, Texas, Walker & Dunlop, Western

Build-for-Rent Space May Outperform Conventional Multifamily on Occupancy, Rents

The past few years have seen a surge in interest in single-family rental (SFR) and build-for-rent (BFR) spaces in commercial real estate. Traditionally the domain of small- and medium-sized investors, the SFR/BFR space has begun to attract institutional investors. BFR, in particular, can often offer higher occupancy levels and rents while promising lower capital and operating costs than traditional multifamily housing.Keaton Merrell, managing director, Capital Markets, Walker & Dunlop, …

April 19, 2021Content Partner, Features, Loans, Midwest, Multifamily, Northeast, Southeast, Texas, Walker & Dunlop, Western

Evaluating the Volume of Distressed Properties in the Wake of COVID

Many in commercial real estate expected a tsunami of COVID-related distressed properties in 2020 and 2021. So far, the wave hasn’t materialized, says Jay Olshonsky, president and CEO of NAI Global. Businesses have been sustained by exogenous factors that may or may not keep them from foreclosure or receivership in the long term. In many cases, lender forbearances or flexible plans have simply extended the window in which distressed properties may eventually revert to …

March 31, 2021Content Partner, Features, Hospitality, Midwest, NAI, Northeast, Office, Southeast, Texas, Western

Walker & Dunlop: Single-Family Rental and Build-for-Rent in High Demand

A number of factors are driving an increase in demand for single-family rental assets. Declines in home ownership rates, increasing demand/short supply for multifamily options and baby boomer renting preferences have made renting these single-family properties an increasingly popular choice. Meanwhile, COVID-19 spurred increases in teleworking that created a desire for additional space in the home and allowed more people to move to suburban locations — accelerating demand for single-family …

March 2, 2021Content Partner, Features, Finance Insight, Midwest, Multifamily, Northeast, Southeast, Texas, Walker & Dunlop, Western

Valbridge: Automation Can Assist Valuation Process, But Not Replace It

The pandemic has forced the appraisal business into a surreal experience: many valuation professionals had their physical connections to the market severed or diminished. The question became: how best to assign value to the properties that appraisers are tasked with assessing especially while the demand for valuation has grown. Where does the rise of automatic valuation systems (AVSs) fit in with the valuation process?Karl Finkelstein, vice president of Business Development and senior …

February 23, 2021Content Partner, Features, Midwest, Northeast, Southeast, Texas, Western

Walker & Dunlop Predicts Growth for Single-Family Rental, Build-for-Rent Asset Class

The single-family rental (SFR) and build-for-rent (BFR) space is emerging as one of the strongest growth sectors in commercial real estate. While the SFR market has made up a portion of the rental market for many years, historically individual and small-scale investors have dominated the market. Institutional investors have only invested in the space for the last 10 to 12 years since the end of the Great Recession.Demand for SFR has been steadily increasing due to current demographic trends …

February 9, 2021Content Partner, Features, Multifamily, Walker & Dunlop

Spotlight on D.C.: Apartment Assets Resist Economic Turbulence

The Washington, D.C. metropolitan area has been a perennial favorite for multifamily capital, particularly pension funds, life companies, family offices and other institutional investors and is often regarded as "recession-proof."However, as we all know, 2020 was a year like no other. What impacts have COVID-19 and recent economic turmoil had on this market’s luster, and what do the prospects look like for investors, owners and operators in the long term? An Economy Buffered by …

January 28, 2021Content Partner, District of Columbia, Multifamily, Southeast, Southeast Feature Archive, Walker & Dunlop

Multifamily Market Offers Resilience in the Face of Economic Pressures

A Tale of Two Cities “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times…” More than 150 years later, the iconic Dickens quote still strikes a chord. While every recession is different, the pandemic-induced shelter-in-place rules quickly sent the U.S. economy into the deepest recession on record in the second quarter. Fortunately, economic recovery, at least thus far, is proving to be just as swift — in certain areas.While unemployment rates dropped quickly from 14.7 percent in …

January 14, 2021Content Partner, Features, Multifamily, Walker & Dunlop

From Expanding Operations to Leveraging Technology, Lee & Associates Evolves in the Face of Change

The situation is a familiar one from the past year: 2020 changed a banner year full of promise into a difficult scenario full of fear and challenges. Jeffrey Rinkov, CEO and chairman of the board at Lee & Associates reflects on how his company took an emphasis on technology and communications infrastructure and used the past year as a time for reflection and a period to promote growth and client engagement. He also discussed trends he’s seeing for the future, the lessons he’s learned …

January 11, 2021Content Partner, Features, Lee & Associates, Western Feature Archive