Features

Adaptive Reuse Projects Present Equal Measures of Challenges, Opportunities

by Taylor Williams June 30, 2022

By Bill Colgan, managing partner, CHA Partners Adaptive reuse projects have continued to garner the attention of the commercial real estate community, especially in light of the lasting impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. While office and retail conversion projects have remained popular in numerous markets over the last several years, in certain parts of the country, projects involving the adaptive reuse of hospitals and healthcare facilities have also played a major role in bringing new life back to communities. As seen throughout the country, the common pattern of large health systems consolidating acute care hospitals has challenged the survivability of standalone hospitals. When standalone facilities fail, it not only creates a healthcare void in the local community, but also results in the closure of large, outdated structures, many of which span several hundred thousand square feet. These structures often sit vacant for decades, become blights in the local area and fail to serve the needs of the communities in which they are situated. When compared with new ground-up projects, there are many benefits to adaptive reuse projects — including cost-effectiveness and shorter time frames — but there are also many challenges. Roadblocks to Adaptive Reuse Due to their very nature, …

June 30, 2022

A Rising Tech Titan Takes the Multifamily Spotlight

by Sarah Daniels June 28, 2022

Last year, a city known more for music than multifamily development led the nation in new construction growth rates, with luxury high rises popping up from downtown to the Gulch to along the Cumberland River. Nashville, attracting an abundance of debt and equity funding from sources old and new, is now considered an institutional-grade market. The driving force behind this growth: technology. Today, singers, songwriters and studio artists share the city with a growing number of software developers, systems architects and startup founders — and all of these innovators need a place to live, work, shop and play. Nashville’s tech evolution started from a solid foundation in healthcare, automotive and education, including HCA Healthcare and its associated startups, spinoffs and subsidiaries and an automotive hub that includes North American headquarters for Nissan and Korean tire manufacturer Hankook, as well as EV and battery cell manufacturing plants for GM. Twenty nine institutions of higher education, including Vanderbilt University, further helped develop a strong pipeline of tech talent. This ecosystem and a business-friendly climate have attracted some of the nation’s top tech employers: Amazon, who chose the metropolitan area for its much-coveted Center of Excellence; Oracle, relocating from Austin; and Capgemini, whose …

June 28, 2022

Features Florida Multifamily Southeast Southeast Feature Archive

One Year Later: Surfside Collapse Inspires Newly Passed Florida Legislation Addressing Structural Integrity

by John Nelson June 24, 2022

By Jim Prichard of Ball Janik LLP The 13-story, L-shaped Champlain Towers decorated the Surfside coastline. In the early morning of June 24, 2021, the pool deck suffered a partial collapse, triggering more destruction in the structure’s central section and eastern wing. In less than 30 seconds, approximately half of the 136 units in the building were destroyed, leaving 98 residents dead and establishing a horrific legacy as one of the deadliest structural engineering failures in U.S. history. In the wake of the tragedy, Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava ordered an immediate audit of all high-rise buildings that were more than 40 years old and five stories tall constructed by the developer. The attention to South Florida development prompted a review of hundreds of older buildings. There was also an onslaught of editorial investigations, including features by The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal and the Miami Herald. Florida International University conducted its satellite analysis of the site as well. All investigations, first-hand experiences, and post-collapse engineering findings reported that there had been concerns about the structural integrity of the building and that the collapse was based on faulty construction and deterioration. As a law firm, our biggest …

June 24, 2022

Features Loans

GSEs Regain Their Sea Legs Amid ‘Adjustment Period’

by Jeff Shaw June 23, 2022

Loan originations for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac moderate while they navigate the rising interest rate environment. By John Nelson Multifamily mortgage loan originations rose 57 percent in the first quarter on a year-over-year basis, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA), but Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac’s combined multifamily origination volume dipped during the same period. Although Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are still considered the premier capital sources for multifamily borrowers, sources say that the level of competition has increased as debt funds, banks, life insurance companies and lenders of commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBS) are all active in the multifamily sector. What’s more, the sharp increase in inflation over the past year, the subsequent rise in interest rates and slowing economic growth have combined to make the near-term outlook for multifamily property valuations more challenging than at any other point in the past decade. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, commonly known as government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs), also tend to be risk-averse. “We’re in the middle of this capital markets-driven adjustment period that has impacted how everyone is looking at commercial real estate,” says Jeffrey Erxleben, president of Northmarq’s Dallas office. “Rising interest rates are adjusting values — by how …

June 23, 2022

Content Partner Features Leasing Activity Midwest NAI Northeast Southeast Texas Western

Cell Tower Leases, Renegotiations Offer Ancillary Income, Options for Landlords

by Sarah Daniels June 21, 2022

What should potential landlords know about leasing space for cell towers or renegotiating their legacy leases? “Landlords need to understand what economic opportunity they have available to them,” says David Moore, CEO and principal at NAI Global Wireless. Involving cell tower lease consultants, especially for existing leases, and considering cell site buyouts are two powerful tools available to cell site landlords today. For decades, Moore explains, property owners have been willing to sign less-than-ideal agreements with carriers and tower companies. Over the years, landlords, thinking that just because these cell tower sites are small and out of the way or because they did not want to turn down “free money,” were willing to sign disadvantageous lease agreements. Landlords often do not understand the impact of signing a lease agreement with a potential term of 30 years (made up of five-year terms), especially when tenants might use leases to constrain certain real estate negotiations (including rights like tenant approval for buyers, rights of first refusal and noncompetition clauses). In many cases, tenants have the unilateral right to terminate their lease without notice, a right about which landlords frequently aren’t aware. Rent escalations, terms and conditions, inflation and more need to be …

June 21, 2022

"The massive demand nationwide requires new opportunities for innovative financing and new ways to fulfill affordable housing needs." — Marge Novak, Berkadia

Affordable Housing Features Midwest Multifamily Northeast Southeast Texas Western

Multifamily Industry Must Band Together to Navigate Challenges in Affordable Housing

by Jaime Lackey June 20, 2022

In May, The White House announced its Housing Supply Action Plan to address rising housing costs by increasing the supply of housing in communities across the country over the next five years. The plan aims to create more housing of all asset types through new construction and preservation and singles out the importance of affordable housing, particularly in a time of high interest rates and inflation. The COVID-19 pandemic and the ensuing economic fallout have uniquely impacted renters unlike previous times of economic uncertainty. Renter demand and rental rates have increased at the fastest pace in decades, underscoring the importance and urgency of increasing the stock of affordable rental housing. The Housing Supply Action Plan does just that. Specifically, the plan seeks to finance more than 800,000 affordable rental units by expanding and strengthening the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) program. Similar language was included in the Build Back Better Plan, which included a variety of actions aimed to bolster the lower and middle class with investments in housing, infrastructure and labor markets. This important piece of the proposed legislation would significantly increase resources that will ultimately expand the number of affordable units available. The Housing Supply Action Plan includes …

June 20, 2022

Conference Coverage Features Multifamily

InterFace Panel: Lease-Up Represents Most Challenging Phase of Active Adult Development

by Taylor Williams June 17, 2022

DALLAS — Completing the lease-up and stabilization of new communities in a timely and cost-efficient manner is the most difficult aspect of developing active adult properties in the current environment. Such is the assertion of developers that are immersing themselves more deeply in this fast-growing sector of commercial real estate, which lies somewhere in between traditional multifamily and independent living on the spectrum of residential uses and services provided. The challenges of fast and effective lease-up programs are attributable to several factors that are unique to the emerging asset class, which also tussles with obstacles like rising construction and operating costs that are impacting all product types in all major markets. A panel of industry professionals with experience in developing and operating both traditional multifamily and seniors housing properties spoke to these challenges during the second-annual InterFace Active Adult conference on June 2. Held at the Dallas Downtown Marriott Hotel, the event also featured insight and analysis from lenders, investors and architects that are active in the space, as well as active adult renters themselves. Ryan Maconachy, vice president at Newmark, moderated the development panel, which kicked off the main day of the conference with a discussion of what the …

June 17, 2022

River House & Terra House Nashville Multifamily

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

Walker & Dunlop: Spring Multifamily Market Contends with Inflation, Housing Bubble Fears

by Sarah Daniels June 15, 2022

By Walker & Dunlop’s Research Department Inflation and a New Era of Monetary Tightening Amid 40-year high inflation rates, home prices that have surged by over 40 percent in the past three years and double-digit price increases in basic necessities such as food, gas and electricity, the United States seems to be beset on all sides. Inflation has become the question of the day with little relief even after monetary tightening began earlier in the year. After a quarter point increase in the Federal Reserve target rate in March, the Fed implemented a whopping 50 basis point increase in the target Federal Funds rate in May after April inflation remained at 8.2 percent, near the March high of 8.6 percent.[1] The central bank’s goal is to reduce inflation to an annual rate of approximately 2 percent. The employment base, the Fed’s other prime objective, seems to remain strong. Unemployment (at 3.6 percent in April) remains low and employment growth of 390,000 in May beat economist expectations. The Fed’s job now is to beat inflation and prevent it from becoming embedded in consumer expectations. Why? Because once inflation becomes embedded in expectations, it changes consumer behavior and becomes somewhat of a …

June 15, 2022

Strong rent growth has spurred investor appetite for Florida’s multifamily market and has boosted out-of-state and international multifamily investment and development. —Jeffrey Margolis, Partner, Berger Singerman LLP

Features Florida Market Reports Multifamily Southeast Southeast Market Reports

Florida Apartment Market’s Strong Real Estate Fundamentals Attract National, International Investors

by Jaime Lackey June 13, 2022

There is an overall sentiment that the Southeast multifamily real estate market, and specifically Florida, is doing better than any other region in the United States. Despite record inflation, rising interest rates, increased construction costs and supply chain issues, investors, developers and lenders are becoming increasingly bullish when it comes to the Florida multifamily market. A rising population count resulting in a swift pace of rent growth and tight apartment vacancy have led to increased out-of-state and international interest and capital being invested in the state. With competitive yields and better returns compared with alternative investments, investors view Florida multifamily projects as a sound opportunity. Florida has been less stringent when it came to COVID-19 policies and lockdowns compared with restrictions adopted in the Northeast and on the West Coast. Limited and lenient state-wide restrictions in Florida during the health crisis allowed the state’s economy to recover more quickly than most major U.S. markets. In addition to an established migration of retirees, Florida has attracted a younger population, with workers looking for warmer climates and relaxed COVID-19 policies. Similarly, massive migration from other regions is being fueled by the ease of doing business, a favorable regulatory environment, business-friendly tax rates, …

June 13, 2022

Features Loans Maryland Southeast Southeast Feature Archive

Developers Turn to CPACE Financing to Achieve Better Returns Amid Rising Costs Environment

by John Nelson June 10, 2022

By Jason Schwartzberg, President of MD Energy Advisors The real estate development industry has been negatively impacted by a continued series of hardships over the past 24 months, including rapidly escalating construction costs, breakdowns in the supply chain, inflation, labor shortages, rent freezes and, most recently, rising interest rates. Many projects are still managing to receive financing and get underway, but the current environment presents significant challenges for owners and investors to place a project under contract, achieve entitlement, obtain construction financing and then build, deliver and stabilize the development. For a project to move from concept to completion, it must first meet the internal rate of return (IRR) or hurdle rate, also known as the “minimum acceptable rate of return” (MARR). Developers and investors maintain various thresholds for the definition of an acceptable IRR, but the return of the project must ultimately be commensurate with the risk undertaken to complete it. Variables associated with construction and market risks also factor into the equation. There are several methods to increase a project’s return in order to reach a desired hurdle rate, some of which are outside of the developer’s direct control. Major inputs that significantly impact returns include the cost …

June 10, 2022

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