How Retail Landlords Can Create Value for Tenants in the Post-COVID World

By Jonathan Fishman, co-founder, Bizydev[caption id="attachment_296532" align="alignright" width="100"] Jonathan Fishman, Bizydev[/caption] Every business-oriented publication for the last 18 months has almost certainly churned out dozens, if not hundreds, of articles detailing how they believe COVID-19 will or has or might affect their market or industry. Real estate publications have exhaustively covered the deceleration of commercial office leasing, the population outflow in urban …

July 27, 2021Features, Retail

InterFace Panel Predicts Wave of Student Housing Investment Sales Transactions in Second Half of 2021

AUSTIN, TEXAS — In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic brought an unexpected interruption to the student housing investment sales market. Following a strong leasing season for fall 2021, executives are seeing increased interest from buyers and sellers in the space, leading many to wonder what the next two quarters of 2021 will look like.In a discussion led by Kieran O’Shea, managing director of Eastdil Secured, at the InterFace Student Housing conference in Austin, Texas, last week, a group of …

July 22, 2021Features, Student Housing

How Criminals Use Real Estate to Launder Money, and What Can Be Done to Stop It

By Matt Long, head of anti-money-laundering solutions, QuantexaReal estate is particularly attractive to criminals in the same way it is to any legitimate investor. It is a common component of a measured investment and/or business strategy and is highly likely to appreciate over time.In fact, according to a recent report by the European Parliament, the share of real estate in criminal assets confiscated, which can be used as an indicator as to how much money is laundered through real …

July 20, 2021Features

‘Power Panel’ at InterFace Event Provides Positive Outlook for Student Housing Sector Post-COVID-19

Moving toward the start of a fresh academic year, the outlook for the student housing industry keeps getting brighter. A testament to the industry’s movement out of the pandemic is taking place at the InterFace Student Housing conference in Austin, where nearly 1,300 attendees have been able to gather in-person for the first time since April 2019. This year's event, which concludes today, is taking place at the JW Marriott downtown.The student housing sector banded together like never …

July 15, 2021Acquisitions, Conference Coverage, Development, Features, Leasing Activity, Multifamily, Student Housing, Texas, Texas & Oklahoma Feature Archive

Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac Go All-In on Affordable Housing Lending Following FHFA Revision

A few weeks before Thanksgiving last year, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) made sweeping changes to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac’s multifamily business pursuits for 2021. The FHFA revised the previous structure that capped loan production at $200 billion combined for both government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs). And unlike most years, that cap was spread across five quarters spanning from the beginning of fourth-quarter 2019 to the end of 2020.For 2021, the FHFA is once again …

July 13, 2021Affordable Housing, Features, Loans, Multifamily

Origin Investments: Phoenix Tops List of Cities for Investing, Developing Multifamily Properties

CHICAGO — According to Origin Investments, a Chicago-based private equity real estate firm, the seven multifamily markets in the United States best poised to capitalize on post-pandemic trends are: Phoenix; Atlanta; Charlotte, North Carolina; Austin, Texas; Raleigh, North Carolina; Nashville, Tennessee; and Tampa, Florida.Origin’s analyzed 150 markets to identify the cities with the highest chance of success as pandemic restrictions loosen. Origin has been refining this model for the …

July 9, 2021Features, Illinois, Multifamily

From Hype to Hyperscalers: NAI Global Discusses Trends for Data Centers

Data centers have exploded in importance over the last year and a half. Kevin Goeller, principal, NAI KLNB, has over 21 years of experience in the field of data center development, sales and leasing, but says that, lately, exponential change is driving demand in this asset class. He spoke to REBusinessOnline about the booming need and limiting factors for data centers. REBusiness: Tell us about the sudden, increased demand for data centers. What amount of this demand is due to the pandemic …

July 8, 2021Acquisitions, Content Partner, Data Centers, Development, Features, Industrial, Midwest, NAI, Northeast, Southeast, Texas, Western

U.S. Retail Sector Recovers Faster Than Expected, Says National League of Cities

WASHINGTON, D.C. — In 2020, the retail sector suffered due to shutdowns and pandemic restrictions on businesses. Additionally, in April 2020, the U.S. unemployment rate reached 14.7 percent, which is the highest it’s been since the Great Depression, according to CNBC.However, the COVID-19 pandemic influenced the retail industry in a positive way by speeding up some pre-existing retail trends, according to the National League of Cities’ (NLC) new report, The Future of Cities: …

July 7, 2021Features, Retail

Re-Evaluating Valuations: One Year Later

Four months into the pandemic, Meghan Czechowski, valuation lead for Apprise by Walker & Dunlop and managing director of the Midwest Region, advised multifamily appraisers not to jump to conclusions about the long-term impacts of the pandemic. “We did advise caution, and it ended up playing exactly the way we thought it would: results differed market by market and asset by asset. That’s how we approach valuation at Apprise to start with, and that approach is how most of the appraisal …

July 6, 2021Content Partner, Features, Leasing Activity, Midwest, Multifamily, Northeast, Southeast, Texas, Walker & Dunlop, Western

Multi-Tenant Shopping Centers Gain Favor With Investors

By Kevin Fryman, Executive Vice President, Hanley Investment GroupBritish entrepreneur and adventurer Sir Richard Branson, head of Virgin Group Ltd., said, “Every success story is a tale of constant adaption, revision and change.” Certainly, as retailers grappled with the impact of COVID-19 restrictions, those that could quickly pivot and adapt were the winners. Even Charles Darwin said, “It is not the strongest of the species that survive, nor the most intelligent, but the one most …

July 1, 2021Features, Retail