Features

Reis: Apartment Market Continues to Face Pressure From Added Supply

by Kristin Harlow January 11, 2018

NEW YORK — Over the course of 2017, asking rents for the national apartment market increased 3.9 percent while effective rents grew by 3.3 percent, according to a fourth-quarter preliminary trends release from Reis Inc. Although still representing rent growth, these rates reflect a deceleration in apartment market fundamentals compared to recent years. This deceleration is due in part to the large amount of new supply coming online. A total of 43,769 units were completed in the fourth quarter, raising the year-end total to 213,802 units. The national apartment market has not seen new completions in excess of 200,000 units since 1986, says Reis. “At 4.5 percent, the national vacancy rate increased 10 basis points from 4.4 percent in the third quarter. This represents a 30 basis point increase in year-over-year vacancy,” says the report. “Vacancies have more or less been on an upward march since the middle of 2016.” At $1,364, the national average asking rent grew 0.4 percent in the fourth quarter. This figure is well below the 0.9 percent average quarterly growth rate for the prior six quarters. Effective rent growth of 0.3 percent in the fourth quarter was also below the 0.8 percent average quarterly growth. …

January 11, 2018

Features Heartland Feature Archive Midwest Multifamily Top Stories

Aided by Tax Credits, Adaptive Reuse Pays Off for Developers

by Kristin Harlow January 9, 2018

Transforming older, historic buildings into apartment rental units opens myriad opportunities for developers beyond simply saving a neighborhood building. The process enables them to create unique floor plans and hip spaces that resonate with many of today’s renters and lease up quickly. These adaptive reuse projects are often costlier than new construction and fraught with challenges, but the consensus among developers is that the reward is worth the risk. “It’s economic development,” says Nick Anderson, a developer with Plymouth, Minnesota-based Dominium. “Converting these historic structures into apartments is very labor-intensive, so the projects generally create a lot of construction jobs. The properties themselves become their own little communities and can have a catalyzing effect on the surrounding neighborhood.” Preserving history Dominium completed construction of Millworks Lofts in Minneapolis in July of this year. The 78-unit affordable housing property was 100 percent leased prior to opening its doors in August, says Anderson. The building, which dates back to the 1920s and was formerly home to Lake Street Sash & Door Co., is on the National Register of Historic Places. Dominium purchased the vacant building in 2016 and financed the project using both federal and state historic tax credit equity. All major …

January 9, 2018

Features Retail Top Stories

What Are the Prospects for an Amazon Merger With Target? Analysts Weigh In

by Jeff Shaw January 4, 2018

When Gene Munster, managing partner of Minneapolis-based venture capital firm Loup Ventures, predicted that e-commerce giant Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) would buy department store chain Target (NYSE: TGT) this year, he knew such a declaration would make waves. In a New Year’s Day post on the Loup Ventures website titled “8 Tech Predictions for 2018,” Munster admitted it was his “boldest prediction.” “Seeing the value of the combination is easy. Amazon believes the future of retail is a mix of mostly online and some offline,” wrote Munster. “Target is the ideal offline partner for Amazon for two reasons: shared demographics and a manageable-but-comprehensive store count.” Business websites and magazines were quick to respond with skepticism, authoring headlines such as “Stop The Insanity Amazon Will Not Be Buying Target” (TheStreet), “Amazon Buying Target Isn’t as Likely as One Tech Analyst Seems to Think” (Adweek) and “No, Amazon Isn’t Buying Target in 2018” (Forbes). Garrick Brown, vice president of retail research for the Americas with Cushman & Wakefield, says “the rumor’s been floating around for a while” that Amazon is looking to buy Target. He estimates the odds of the deal happening at between 25 percent and 33 percent. Jeff Green, president and …

January 4, 2018

Features Retail Texas Texas & Oklahoma Feature Archive Top Stories

Retail Landlords Struggle With the Logistics of Backfilling Vacated Space with Entertainment Concepts

by John Nelson January 2, 2018

As 2018 gets underway, retail real estate finds itself at an odd juncture. According to CNN, more than 6,700 stores either closed or announced plans to close in 2017, leading many to consider last year to be the beginning of the end for brick-and-mortar shopping. Yet a new report from Tennessee-based retail advisory firm IHL Consulting Group notes that for every company that closed stores in 2017, there were nearly three companies opening new stores to offset it. Whether you believe retail is dying or evolving, there’s no arguing that the inability of certain tenants — mainly apparel-based department stores — to compete with e-commerce has caused millions of square feet of retail real estate to be returned to the market. Owners of these properties face the challenge of backfilling these spaces with tenants that aren’t likely to share the same fate — restaurants, gyms and entertainment concepts. But when it comes to backfilling a big box or anchor space with an entertainment concept, merging the existing space with the design requirements of the tenant can be a major headache for landlords. With 58 million square feet of project designs under his belt, Randy Stone, associate principal at Dallas-based architecture …

January 2, 2018

Features Retail Top Stories

Report: Compressing Cap Rates Don’t Slow Investor Appetite for 7-Eleven, Circle K Stores

by Taylor Williams December 21, 2017

CHICAGO — In an era wherein investors are generally bearish on the performance of retail properties, single-tenant, small-footprint assets leased to convenience stores may be an exception to the rule, according to a recent report from Chicago-based Quantum Real Estate Advisors Inc. The average capitalization rates for convenience stores flying under two brands — 7-Eleven and Alimentation Couche-Tard, which owns Circle K and Kangaroo Express — decreased from 2016 to 2017, according to the report. Despite the cap rate compression, though, investor interest in single-tenant retail properties leased to either of these firms is on the rise. The report found that the average cap rate for 7-Eleven stores decreased by six basis points between 2016 and 2017, while Couche-Tard stores experienced an average cap rate compression of 74 basis points during that stretch. Average cap rates for these 7-Eleven and Couche-Tard stores, which typically operate on 10- to 20-year leases, now stand at 5.1 and 6.1 percent, respectively. And while cap rates for both chains appear to be trending downward, they also reflect stability in the sense that they are bucking the larger trend in retail real estate — a key appeal to investors. As such, investor demand for these …

December 21, 2017

Features Multifamily Seniors Housing Top Stories

Skilled Nursing Occupancy Hits Five-Year Low, According to NIC Data

by Taylor Williams December 19, 2017

ANNAPOLIS, Md. — Occupancy for skilled nursing facilities throughout the United States hit a five year low in the third quarter of 2017, falling to 81.6 percent, according to data released today by the National Investment Center for Seniors Housing & Care (NIC). NIC is a nonprofit data analytics organization exclusively serving the seniors housing sector. NIC collects the data using a sample population collected each month from more than 1,400 skilled nursing properties throughout the country. The occupancy numbers mark a 29 basis point decrease from the previous quarter and 167 basis point decrease from the same time last year. “Historically, there has been some variability in the occupancy trend in the third quarter in any given year, so it is difficult to gauge the impact of seasonality,” says Bill Kauffman, senior principal at NIC. “Occupancy did set a new low within this time series in the third quarter as pressure continues on the Medicare mix. However, it did decline at a slower pace from the prior quarter.” Medicare patient day mix declined 58 basis points from the second quarter and 84 basis points from year-earlier levels, coming in at a new low of 12.2 percent in the third …

December 19, 2017

Features Top Stories

Marcus & Millichap: Proposed Tax Legislation Holds Modest Change for Investment Real Estate

by Katie Sloan December 14, 2017

WASHINGTON, D.C. — As the much anticipated tax reform legislation makes it way through Congress, commercial real estate investors may be wondering what reverberations they will feel if the proposed changes are signed into law by President Trump. According to a special report by Marcus & Millichap, the two final versions of the law from the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate appear relatively benign for real estate investors. Both versions of the legislation, which have yet to be reconciled, offer modest changes to key provisions including 1031 tax-deferred exchange, mortgage interest deductibility and asset depreciation. The tax plans offer generous cuts for corporations and pass-through entities such as limited liability companies, which may lend an opportunity for investors to reconfigure their portfolios. “There are many nuances in both the House and Senate versions,” says John Chang, first vice president of research services at Marcus & Millichap. “The House version could reduce tax rates on this income from personal rates as high as 39.6 percent to as low as 25 percent depending on whether the earnings are active or passive. The Senate version grants a 23 percent deduction on qualified pass-through income with some restrictions.” The maximum tax rate for …

December 14, 2017

Conference Coverage Features Multifamily North Carolina South Carolina Southeast Southeast Feature Archive

Multifamily Firms Targeting Charlotte, Raleigh Suburbs, Says InterFace Carolinas Panel

by John Nelson December 14, 2017

ATLANTA — Executives from some of the most active multifamily firms in the Southeast are honing in on the suburbs of Charlotte and Raleigh as they map out their long-term investment and development strategies. During the Carolinas panel at the eighth annual InterFace Multifamily Southeast conference, the panelists stated they’re preparing for a suburban shift as a large swath of the millennial renting cohort and downsizing baby boomers will be priced out of core submarkets. “There’s a confluence of different demand drivers that will persist in earnest for the next five to 10 years as we see the millennial migration happening and affordability constraints start to enter the picture more,” said Eddy O’Brien, managing partner and co-founder of Blaze Partners, a boutique multifamily investment firm based in Charleston, S.C. Ben Yorker, vice president of development at Northwood Ravin, said his firm is also interested in Charlotte and the Triangle area for new development opportunities in 2018. “Within those markets we’re edging away from infill and exploring more suburban opportunities,” said Yorker. “We’re targeting renters by choice like empty nesters or urban professionals. In 2018, we’ll shift significantly to target millennials looking to the suburbs.” New development is already trickling its …

December 14, 2017

Conference Coverage Features Georgia Multifamily Southeast Top Stories

Talent, Technology Are Top Priorities for Multifamily Operators Today, Says InterFace Panel

by John Nelson December 12, 2017

ATLANTA — Apartment management is a people-intensive industry that requires dedicated team members at multiple levels. Finding talented and driven individuals is priority No. 1 for multifamily operators. But seasoned executives are the first to admit that hiring is difficult in an expanding economy where recent graduates have multiple career paths at their choosing. Property management firms are recruiting prospects who are working in outside industries, which has been a reliable tactic. “We’ve had to go out and look at hospitality, restaurants and other industries that complement multifamily to find talent,” said Chris Burns, senior vice president of Lincoln Property Co. During the operators panel at the InterFace Multifamily Southeast conference held on Tuesday, Nov. 28 at the Westin Buckhead in Atlanta, Burns and his fellow panelists discussed the opportunities and challenges facing the industry today. The eighth annual conference drew 402 professionals. The panel agreed that finding talent was difficult, but that retaining and training that talent is just as big a challenge. “Retaining talent is just like leasing — it’s important to get a lease but it’s more important to get a renewal,” said Greg Mark, senior vice president of operations at Pinnacle, a national multifamily property management …

December 12, 2017

Features Industrial Top Stories

Last-Mile Delivery Is Game Changer in Industrial Sector, Says SIOR President

by Jeff Shaw December 7, 2017

Del Markward will be logging a lot of frequent flyer miles over the next year as he travels around the country and abroad to meet with several chapters of the Society of Industrial and Office Realtors (SIOR), an organization with more than 3,200 members in 685 cities and 36 countries. In addition to serving as the 2018 global president of SIOR, Markward is founder of the Markward Group, a real estate consulting, advisory and brokerage firm based in Allentown, Pa. Markward was officially inducted as president of the organization in October at the outset of the SIOR World Conference in Chicago. He most recently served as president-elect of SIOR and before that was vice president. The commercial real estate community recognizes professionals who have earned the SIOR designation as among the most capable and experienced brokerage practitioners in any market, according to the organization. On the heels of the SIOR World Conference, REBusinessOnline interviewed Markward about some of the dynamic changes taking place in the industrial real estate sector today, including the sharp rise in demand for space driven by e-commerce companies. What follows is an edited transcript of the Q&A. REBusinessOnline: Supply chain logistics is an industry undergoing a dramatic …

December 7, 2017

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