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The seniors housing industry is extremely active on the development front so far in 2015, with no signs of slowing down. Nationally, there are 12,000 units of independent living — over four times last year’s pace — and 20,000 units of assisted living currently under construction, according to a March report from Marcus & Millichap. There will be more than $127 billion of construction over the next five years in the seniors housing sector in the G20 nations, according to a report from Boston-based data firm Lux Research. “That’s a lot of buzz around our little industry,” says Ken Segarnick, chief corporate officer of New Jersey-based seniors housing operator Brandywine Senior Living. Segarnick made the comment during a panel he hosted at the Assisted Living Federation of America 2015 Senior Living Executive Conference May 4 in Tampa, Fla. The panel was titled “Why is everyone developing today?” The panelists included Chuck Herman, president of seniors housing and post-acute for Health Care REIT; Stephanie Handelson, president and COO of Benchmark Senior Living; and Ed Kenny, president and CEO of LCS. The hot development market is being driven by extremely high demand in many of the target areas for growth, panelists said. …

By Chandler McCormack Everybody knows what a hammer is good for, but construction cameras can mean a lot of different things to different people. While not as ubiquitous as hammers, construction cameras are becoming a regular fixture on jobsites across the United States. Some view them as must-have tools for scheduling and productivity. Others find them most valuable for marketing and public relations purposes. “Today’s superintendent isn’t just a guy who swings a hammer; he’s the guy with the laptop who knows how to swing a hammer. He needs to be able to access important information in the field just like you can in the office. Our construction cameras are an important piece of that technology puzzle,” says Blake Gremillion, president of construction for D’Argent Cos., a development and construction firm based in Alexandria, La. One of the most commonly cited benefits of having a construction time-lapse camera is that it can reduce the number of visits to the jobsite required to bring a project to completion. A well-placed construction camera with a well-designed dashboard allows viewers to view a jobsite from any mobile device, zoom in as needed for a closer look, retrieve images from any date and time, …

JACKSONVILLE — East Coast ports are growing at a faster rate than their West Coast counterparts, according to CBRE Group Inc.’s “North America Ports Logistics Annual Report.” Though the East Coast ports are gaining ground, the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach still topped the report’s first-ever “Ports and Logistics Index.” That’s due to infrastructure that is well suited to handle the largest cargo container ships, their proximity to Asian export markets, a strong local economy and a deep industrial real estate market, notes CBRE. Jacksonville ranked at No. 15 based on strong industrial real estate market fundamentals and infrastructure capabilities. “Although the location needs of supply chain users are somewhat fixed given existing distribution centers and customer locations, these networks are always evolving and adjusting to meet increasingly complex inventory requirements,” says David Egan, head of industrial research in the Americas for CBRE. “As ports across North America continue to address operational efficiencies caused by greater cargo volumes, labor disputes and a shortage of workers, supply chain users are exploring diversification strategies that move some portion of inbound cargo from the congested West Coast ports to East and Gulf Coast ports,” adds Egan. The 6-15-ranked ports on the …

NEW YORK — U.S. CMBS delinquencies marginally improved in April. The Trepp CMBS Delinquency Rate ticked down one basis point in April, following an unchanged rate in March. The delinquency rate for U.S. commercial real estate loans in CMBS is now 5.57 percent, 87 basis points lower than a year ago. Trepp’s research shows that more than $700 million in loans were cured last month, while CMBS loans that were previously delinquent but paid off either at par or with a loss totaled almost $600 million. Removing these previously distressed assets from the numerator of the delinquency calculation helped move the rate down by 11 basis points. Almost $1.9 billion in loans were defeased in April, not including loans from agency deals. In the last two years, the delinquency rate has fallen 21 times. In April, $1.35 billion in loans became newly delinquent, which put 26 basis points of upward pressure on the delinquency rate. The Numbers The percentage of loans seriously delinquent (60+ days delinquent, in foreclosure, REO, or nonperforming balloons) is now 5.44 percent, three basis points higher for the month. If defeased loans were taken out of the equation, the overall 30-day delinquency rate would be 5.90 …

NORTHBROOK, ILL. — Cap rates for the single-tenant bank ground lease sector descended to a new historic low of 4.35 percent in the first quarter of 2015, according to The Boulder Group’s latest Net Lease Bank Ground Lease Report. The compression of cap rates signifies a 40 basis point decrease since the first quarter of 2014 and represents the lowest cap rate across all net lease sectors that The Boulder Group tracks. The bank ground lease sector comprises both national and regional banks that leases their land from a third party. Investor demand for bank ground lease properties remains strong, as banks are one of the few single-tenant net lease properties offering long-term, absolute net leases and rental escalations in the primary lease terms. Additionally, many private and 1031 investors look to this sector for safe and stable returns, as 90 percent of bank ground leases are leased to investment grade-rated companies. While overall demand has increased over the past year for net lease properties, the supply of bank ground leases has decreased by 30 percent since the first quarter of 2014. The shortage can be attributed to the limited retail expansion plans for banking institutions. The lack of new …

CALABASAS, CALIF. — Combined with minimal construction, rising demand for self storage space from consumers is driving the sector’s decrease in vacancy and increase in rental rates in 2015, according to Marcus & Millichap’s semi-annual Self Storage Research report. Construction has been anemic in the self storage sector, mostly due to the increasing land prices as a result of the competition for multifamily development sites. Additionally, the report cites that permitting and entitlements for self storage pose a challenge for developers because municipalities are seeking more potent sources for fees and tax revenue. As of this writing, approximately 3 million square feet of self storage space is under construction, according to the report. A large chunk of that development is underway in Phoenix and New York City’s Brooklyn and Queens boroughs. Marcus & Millichap expects self storage development in 2015 to total 4.4 million square feet, a decline from the 5.2 million square feet delivered in 2014. Real disposable income, a key metric for the report that takes inflation into account, increased 0.4 percent from January to February, according to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis. Real disposable income has risen by 0.4 percent month-to-month going back to October 2014, …

NEW YORK — The retail real estate sector is experiencing an uptick in performance much like the rest of the U.S. economy, but with a murkier future due to a wave a maturing CMBS loans and continued uncertainty of retail’s future in an increasingly online marketplace, according to data analytics firm Trepp LLC. The delinquency rate for CMBS retail loans 30 days or more past due dropped 22 basis points to 5.38 percent in February, which compares favorably with other property types. The delinquency rate for office loans, for example, was 6.15 percent. The delinquency rate on CMBS retail loans is now down 286 basis points below the peak set in March 2012. However, part of the reason retail leads the march downward on delinquency rates, the report says, is that lenders were not as patient with retail during the economic recovery, choosing to foreclose on borrowers more quickly than in other sectors. “Retail delinquencies recovered more rapidly than other major property types, as special servicers were faster to cut their losses and foreclose on distressed retail properties, as opposed to the ‘extend and pretend’ approach taken with a lot of large office and multifamily loans during the slow recovery,” the report says. …

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Even in the face of economic turbulence in the general U.S. economy caused by cold weather and labor issues in West Coast ports, the country’s industrial sector remained unfazed and continued its growth during the first quarter of 2015, according to a report from real estate services firm DTZ. The U.S. industrial sector saw net absorption of 38.8 million square feet — almost identical to the previous quarter’s number, and a 20.5 percent year-over-year increase. “Since 1993 — the first year DTZ started tracking quarterly data — there has never been stronger demand as there is currently,” DTZ writes in the report. “Over the past four quarters, more than 169 million square feet of industrial space have been absorbed.” Vacancy, meanwhile, continued its years-long free-fall, hitting 7.6 percent. That’s 10 basis points down from fourth-quarter 2014, 60 basis points lower than the same time last year, and 110 basis points below the 25-year average of 8.7 percent. Asking rents increased to $5.35 per square foot triple net and are now 4 percent higher than in the first quarter of 2014, despite delivery of 35.8 million square feet of new space. There is 107.3 million square feet of …

ANNAPOLIS, Md. — The occupancy rate in the U.S. seniors housing sector — which includes both independent and assisted living — registered 90.2 percent during the first quarter of 2015, down 20 basis points from the prior quarter, according to the National Investment Center for Seniors Housing & Care (NIC). Still, the occupancy rate is 3.3 percentage points above its cyclical low of 86.9 percent reached during the first quarter of 2010. All statistics are based on data from 31 top markets in the U.S. At majority independent living properties, the occupancy rate was unchanged at 91.2 percent, maintaining the highest rate since late 2007. Annual rent growth for majority independent living accelerated to 2.7 percent, the fastest rate since late 2009. “Majority independent living properties have benefited from relatively moderate levels of new units being delivered into the market,” says Chuck Harry, managing director and director of research for Annapolis-based NIC. “Strong occupancy levels have started to put upward pressure on rent growth.” Meanwhile, the occupancy rate at majority assisted living properties came in at 88.7 percent during the first quarter of 2015, down 60 basis points from 89.3 percent at the close of 2014 and 20 basis points …