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WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. employers have added to their payrolls for 90 straight months, extending the longest continuous jobs expansion on record, according to The Wall Street Journal. Still, the latest employment report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) fell far short of expectations. Total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 103,000 in March, while unemployment held steady at 4.1 percent, the BLS reported last Friday, April 6. Wall Street economists had expected an increase of about 185,000 jobs in March, reports Bloomberg. REBusinessOnline reached out to three real estate researchers for their reaction to the latest jobs report, plus insights as to when this positive streak might end, the near-term outlook for interest rates, and the impact of tariffs on the employment market. Q&A participants included Ryan Severino, chief economist for JLL who works out of the firm’s New York City office; Ken McCarthy, principal economist and applied research lead for the U.S. based in Cushman & Wakefield’s New York City office; and Steve Hovland, director of research for Irvine, Calif.-based HomeUnion Inc. What follows are their edited responses. REBusinessOnline: Why do you think the total nonfarm payroll employment for March fell far short of expectations, and what should we …

It’s critical for owners to identify both economic and functional obsolescence in order to fight unfair property tax assessments. New technologies, shifting markets and aging buildings can drive economic obsolescence across entire industries. Equally important for the taxpayer, these factors also affect individual property values from a functionality perspective. Understanding both economic and functional obsolescence is essential to properly evaluate tax assessments for accuracy. Determining functional obsolescence requires an analysis of the property’s layout and technologies in use. This exercise attempts to quantify any adjustment in value that amplifies or outpaces downward trends occurring in the market, or accelerates depreciation beyond a straight-line basis. This may include external trends having a unique negative effect on the property’s functionality. Likewise, economic obsolescence can affect a property’s value. Such an analysis involves external factors not necessarily specific to the property that may compromise its value on the open market. Declining trends in markets within an industry can signify reasons for impaired values both nationally and regionally. Moreover, international competition may underscore weaknesses within an industry that explain a reduction in a particular property’s value. In ascertaining the decline in a property’s value due to economic obsolescence, the analysis must attempt to quantify …

With the number of U.S. smart phone users estimated to climb to 271 million by 2022, telecom providers are rushing to add capacity, and tower companies are working hard to accommodate the telecom providers’ need for infrastructure. Tower companies are dangling large sums of money in front of property owners whose locations can hold such infrastructure, thereby enabling telecom providers to relieve network congestion and strengthen coverage. Tower companies are always looking for new and creative locations to place communication equipment. (i.e. Who would have guessed that telecom providers would one day place small cell antennas on downtown streetlights?) For various reasons, they often prefer to pay up-front, lump sum payments for perpetual property rights instead of monthly rents. These payments often exceed $300,000, and every so often reach as much as $1 million. Before entering binding agreements for these kinds of arrangements, tower companies generally send a letter of intent to the property owner, memorializing the parties’ payment terms and the general scope of their agreement. Once the parties agree on the business terms and sign the letter of intent, the tower company will send over its standard form of easement documentation while it begins its site-specific diligence efforts. …