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Project Destined: Training a New and Diverse Generation for Real Estate Careers

by Sarah Daniels November 15, 2022

For the better part of the last two decades, billions of dollars have poured into underserved neighborhoods across the U.S. as corporations, millennials and real estate investors rediscovered downtowns and other urban districts. But to former Carlyle Group executive Cedric Bobo and real estate entrepreneur Fred Greene, young people who grew up in the neighborhoods were often excluded from playing a role in the transitions. To remedy that problem, in 2016 they began training 15 Detroit high school students in real estate fundamentals and invested $150,000 to buy two properties with the idea of using the cash flow to fund scholarships. Soon after, Bobo and Greene officially launched Project Destined, an endeavor to effect social change in the commercial real estate industry by providing college students with financial literacy, entrepreneurship and real estate training. “Cedric found that there was a real need for diverse talent in commercial real estate but that it was hard for companies to find it,” reports Cristina Ciacciarelli, a junior at Burach College in New York City who completed the program in 2021 and now heads up corporate partnerships for Project Destined. “It was also hard for the companies to sell themselves to diverse talent even …

November 15, 2022

Content Partner Features Industrial Leasing Activity Loans Midwest Multifamily NAI Northeast Office Retail Southeast Texas Western

Experts Turn to Opportunistic Moves, Lending During Uncertainty of Economic Downturn

by Sarah Daniels November 7, 2022

As we shift through economic uncertainty and changes in the market, commercial real estate businesses are planning for a range of scenarios — and looking to historical trends to make predictions. REBusinessOnline sat down with two industry experts to talk about how this period of uncertainty compares to previous eras and where there may be benefits and opportunities in the current landscape. Jay Olshonsky, president and CEO, and Cliff Moskowitz, executive vice president, at NAI Global spoke about the commercial real estate outlook and the challenges it is likely to face in the immediate future. REBusiness: Looking at the current environment, how does it compare to previous periods of uncertainty? What might be the impacts on commercial real estate? Olshonsky: To start with, we are in a recession. We’ve already had two quarters of negative GDP growth. I think the most fundamental difference between this cycle and a lot of other cycles is that we have extremely low unemployment, differentiating this moment from others, for example, 2009. Even though the most recent job numbers were lower, they were still fairly strong. Jobs create the demand for commercial real estate at all levels, but especially at the services level. We do …

November 7, 2022

Acquisitions Content Partner Development Features Industrial Leasing Activity Lee & Associates Midwest Multifamily Northeast Office Retail Southeast Texas Western

Lee & Associates’ Third-Quarter 2022 Economic Rundown by Sector

by Sarah Daniels November 3, 2022

Lee & Associates’ newly released 2022 Q3 North America Market Report examines third-quarter 2022 industrial, office, retail and multifamily outlooks throughout the United States. This sector-based review of commercial real estate trends for the third quarter of the year examines the difficulties facing each asset class and where opportunities in the commercial real estate landscape may be emerging. Lee & Associates has made the full market report available here (with further breakdowns of factors like vacancy rates, market rents, inventory square footage and cap rates by city), but the summaries below provide high-level considerations of the overall health and obstacles for the industrial, office, retail and multifamily sectors. Industrial Overview: High Rent, Low Vacancy Everywhere North American industrial space availability is tight everywhere while rent growth and property prices remain near or have moved beyond historic highs. Through the third quarter, the United States’ vacancy rate settled at 4 percent, up 10 basis points from second quarter 2022. Average rents increased 11.4 percent year over year with gains of 19 percent in Miami, 18.7 percent in Southern California’s Inland Empire, 16 percent in Phoenix and 14.6 percent in Atlanta. Since the COVID lockdown in March of 2020, developers of U.S. logistics space have been …

November 3, 2022

Matt Maison, vice president of research for Arbor Realty Trust

Acquisitions Arbor Realty Trust Content Partner Features Midwest Multifamily Northeast Southeast Texas Western

Multifamily Opportunity Matrix Reveals Most Promising Markets for Investors, Developers

by Sarah Daniels November 1, 2022

By Arbor Realty Trust Inflationary environments set many investors’ minds to thinking about multifamily properties, which have tended to perform as well or better than other property types in the face of economic headwinds. Product type is no guarantee of success, however, and careful site selection is essential to ensure a project will have the renter demand and pricing power the owner needs to succeed. Arbor Realty Trust, in partnership with Chandan Economics, developed the opportunity matrix featured in Arbor’s Top Opportunities in Large Multifamily Investment Report 2022. The opportunity matrix helps clients navigate the nation’s apartment markets, enabling them to compare relative strengths from one metro to the next and identify those offering the greatest potential for development or investment. Its ranking system, which analyzes eight key categories, found the top three U.S. metro markets for large multifamily investment in 2022 are San Antonio, Kansas City and Las Vegas. “Reviewing what made these communities rise to the top of our 50-metro ranking will demonstrate how investors can use the matrix to compare the climates of opportunity in the markets in which they operate, or to suggest new fields of opportunity for their next venture,” said Matt Maison, vice president …

November 1, 2022

Content Partner Features Midwest Multifamily Northeast Pavlov Media Southeast Texas Western

Multifamily Fiber Networks Must Be Dedicated, Resilient to Serve Increased Resident Demand

by Sarah Daniels October 27, 2022

Fiber networks built with multifamily properties in mind offer network resilience while maximizing ROI for owners and operators. Well-constructed fiber networks are at the heart of meeting and exceeding residents’ growing Internet needs, especially when work-from-home culture and the constant need for online connection have made Internet slowdowns and downtime unacceptable for end users. Fiber can also strengthen connectivity across multifamily properties, shoring up the Wi-Fi services residents have come to know and on which they’ve come to depend. How does a national fiber network integrate with multifamily properties? By focusing just on the needs of the multi-dwelling unit (MDU). “Instead of building out 200-mile routes of duct and fiber, we build out ‘miracle miles’ in densely populated MDU areas. From that point, we’re able to easily grow or expand out from that area,” says Michael O’Linc, president of fiber services & campus communications at Pavlov Media. O’Linc stresses the importance of a more planned, methodical approach for MDUs. A network that serves multifamily buildings must be a network focused on backups and fail safes. The “miracle mile” method creates a main line with laterals — creating a ring shape as it expands. This approach to fiber makes networks easier to …

October 27, 2022

Bohler Content Partner Development Features Midwest Northeast Southeast Texas Western

Prep for Success: Site Civil Engineering Design Streamlines Construction, Avoids Snags

by Sarah Daniels October 25, 2022

Can you dig it? Possibly, but site civil engineers can help determine if construction can rock on without running into rocky situations. Thorough site civil due diligence is the foundation for developing a project with minimal delays. Keeping land development projects moving forward — especially during construction — requires highly informed due diligence processes and expertise when it comes to approvals and plans. Site civil engineering design with constructability in mind can support general contractors while streamlining the overall bidding and construction process. But what are best practices when it comes to ensuring a successful project? REBusinessOnline spoke to two experts who specialize in high-quality construction documents: Benjamin Plumb, P.E. project manager, and Keith Simpson, director of engineering, work for Bohler, a land development consulting and technical design company. You Never Know What You’ll Find Before You Dig — However, These Tips Can Help Uncertainty is part of any development project, but Simpson outlines two scenarios that make up the majority of the challenges he sees: 1. Existing underground utilities that are not reflected in plans. 2. Soils that differ from what was expected from the geotechnical report. In some cases, slowdowns are unavoidable and will cause delays, but due diligence can …

October 25, 2022

Affordable Housing Content Partner Development Features Loans Midwest Northeast Southeast Texas Walker & Dunlop Western

Shortage of Tax Credits, Higher Interest Rates Plague Affordable Housing

by Sarah Daniels October 20, 2022

Forty-year-high inflation rates that are outpacing wage growth and eating away at personal income are exacerbating already outsized resident demand for affordable housing financed by the federal Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) program. But it seems that obstacles to supplying new units to meet that demand are only multiplying. Those range from a shortage of housing tax credits needed to fund new supply to resistance to multifamily development at the local level. Meanwhile, higher mortgage rates are making home buying more difficult and expensive. In turn, that is creating more apartment renters, thereby putting upward pressure on rental rates. In September, for example, the average monthly rent price nationwide hit $1,759, an increase of 7.8 percent from the prior year, according to Realtor.com’s monthly rental report. That’s also nearly 25 percent higher than September 2019, the organization reports. What’s more, from 2015 through 2020 — long before mortgage rates spiked — the U.S. lost 4.7 million apartment units with rents less than $1,000 per month, according to U.S. Apartment Demand Through 2035, a report by the National Multifamily Housing Council and National Apartment Association. “Demand for affordable units is only going to become more acute between now and the end of …

October 20, 2022

Aaron Hargrove Walker Dunlop Affordable Housing

Affordable Housing Content Partner Features Leasing Activity Loans Midwest Multifamily Northeast Southeast Texas Walker & Dunlop Western

Walker & Dunlop: Affordable Housing’s Appeal Grows for Investors

by Sarah Daniels October 11, 2022

With transaction volume for market-rate housing beginning to ebb, affordable housing investment is poised to play a more central role in the months ahead. Several factors have broadened the allure of affordable housing as an investment vehicle in recent years. When the pandemic began taking a toll on market-rate housing performance, investors saw federal, state and even local governments enact measures to help residents at affordable communities maintain their rent payments and help ensure housing remained available for people struggling financially. We saw the interest level in Section 8 properties, for example, increase significantly during the pandemic, due chiefly to federal guarantees backing those rent streams. From a financing perspective, the strong commitment shown by Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the Federal Housing Administration to preserve liquidity for affordable housing has bolstered development and investment in the space. Due to the required hold periods, affordable housing investments are less affected by market cycles, so liquidity should remain strong. Now, changing economic forces promise to drive new equity to the affordable sphere and fuel further investment. The Federal Open Market Committee’s resolve to combat record inflation is exerting upward pressure on mortgage rates and, eventually, cap rates, which could discourage sellers …

October 11, 2022

Acquisitions Content Partner Development Features Loans Midwest Multifamily Northeast Southeast Texas Walker & Dunlop Western

Walker & Dunlop: Small Balance Lending Presents New Financing Option for Turbulent Market

by Sarah Daniels October 6, 2022

Following a similar move in June and July, the Fed implemented its third consecutive interest rate hike of 75 basis points in mid-September. This is the biggest three-month interest rate swing since 1994. What does this all mean for investors in the small balance lending (SBL) segment of the multifamily sector? The combination of rising interest rates, inflation and market uncertainty tempts borrowers to sit on the sidelines until conditions improve. Turbulent markets also limit financing options, as many lenders and capital sources tend to become cautious and pull back. But the need for capital transcends market cycles and seasoned multifamily investors know that rate hikes are nothing new. We’ve been here before with interest rates of nearly 7 percent in the 2000s and a record high of nearly 20 percent in the 1980s. The business of real estate investing never stops. New acquisition opportunities arise as distressed owners are forced to sell, cap rates settle to more conservative levels and the market shifts in the buyer’s favor. All things considered, now is the time to seek new investment opportunities. In fact, Warren Buffett once offered the timeless advice that it is wise for investors to be “fearful when others …

October 6, 2022

Bayer Headquarters at 67 Whippany Rd Whippany, NJ

Bohler Content Partner Development Features Life Sciences Midwest Northeast Office Southeast Texas Western

Life Sciences Developer Checklist: Processes to Accelerate Speed to Market

by Sarah Daniels September 29, 2022

Combinations of offices with laboratories, research and development spaces and/or manufacturing areas make life sciences facilities highly customizable. These multipurpose, technical spaces are in high demand from companies seeking first-class facilities for research-based advancements. Low vacancies, high rents and the chance to convert unused office or retail spaces on a faster timeline have prompted some creative approaches to retrofit existing space to fulfill the needs of science and technology tenants. In other instances, facilities must be built from the ground up to conform to best practices. But what factors matter most to the life sciences field? And how can developers increase their speed to market? Read on for tips and checklists for developers hoping to speed up the process of building or retrofitting these facilities. Industry Drivers: Speed to Market and Flexibility Office conversions into life sciences facilities offer a variety of options. Life sciences facilities often do not need to accommodate large trucks (eliminating circulation and loading dock concerns), they use office components and (most importantly) office conversions offer faster speed to market than other types of conversions. “Speed to market is most important for these developers/tenants. There is a shortage of space, so a well-designed, spec building will …

September 29, 2022

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