Features

By Reducing Occupancy Costs, Brick-and-Mortar Retailers Can Save on Property Taxes

by Taylor Williams February 12, 2021

By Morris Ellison Esq., partner, Womble Bond Dickinson LLP E-commerce was here to stay even before the pandemic devastated small businesses and placed an even greater premium on technology. In the changed landscape, lowering occupancy costs by reducing property taxes is one of the most important steps businesses can take to remain competitive. Stay-at-home orders still prevent many shoppers from visiting their favorite brick-and-mortar stores, while fear of contagion exacerbates consumers’ reluctance to shop in person. Regardless of customer traffic, however, retailers still incur fixed costs including insurance, enterprise software, property taxes and, arguably, rent. The occupancy costs of online-only retailers are much lower, making it difficult for small brick-and-mortar businesses to compete. Put differently, sales taxes decline with reduced sales but property taxes do not. Landlords and tenants in triple-net leases often fail to examine property taxes, but the survival of both may depend on reducing this expenditure. Other costs such as insurance and the enterprise software needed to run the business generally lie beyond a small business’ control and do not diminish with reduced business volume. The active 2020 hurricane season certainly has not reduced insurance costs. During the pandemic, some landlords have deferred or forgiven rent, but …

February 12, 2021

U.S. Office Rents Won’t Return to Pre-Pandemic Levels Until 2026, Says Moody’s Analytics

by Jeff Shaw February 11, 2021

NEW YORK CITY — It will take at least five years for office-using companies in the United States to demand enough office space to push rents to pre-pandemic levels, with more short-term pain for office owners on the horizon, according to projections by Moody’s Analytics. The New York City-based research firm, which is a subsidiary of ratings agency Moody’s Corp. (NYSE: MCO), issued the forecast last week, punctuating its findings with an assertion that U.S. office vacancy would rise to 19.4 percent in 2021. That figure would represent a 30-year high, surpassing the national vacancy rate of 17.6 percent that occurred in 2010 toward the end of the Great Recession. It would also be the highest national vacancy rate recorded since the 19.7 percent posted during the Savings & Loan Crisis of the early 1990s. In addition, the report from Moody’s Analytics predicted that the national office vacancy rate of nearly 20 percent would hold equally steady in 2022, while rents would fall much more sharply in 2021 than the 0.7 percent decline they posted in 2020. Effective office rents are projected to decrease by 7.5 percent in 2021 before recovering in 2022 as companies continue to implement entire or …

February 11, 2021

Single family rental SFR build for rent BFR space Walker Dunlop

Build-to-Rent Content Partner Features Multifamily Single-Family Rental Walker & Dunlop

Walker & Dunlop Predicts Growth for Single-Family Rental, Build-for-Rent Asset Class

by Sarah Daniels February 9, 2021

The single-family rental (SFR) and build-for-rent (BFR) space is emerging as one of the strongest growth sectors in commercial real estate. While the SFR market has made up a portion of the rental market for many years, historically individual and small-scale investors have dominated the market. Institutional investors have only invested in the space for the last 10 to 12 years since the end of the Great Recession. Demand for SFR has been steadily increasing due to current demographic trends related to Gen Y and baby boomers; however, migration patterns related to COVID-19 have accelerated that demand. SFR growth is expected to outpace multifamily, office, retail, storage and hospitality growth by 2022. As the demand for more SFR properties grows, an increasing number of larger investors are expanding their investment strategy to include the product. With the SFR asset class gaining more attention, the BFR sub-segment is playing an emerging role in large-scale investors’ portfolios. The SFR market is estimated at $3.4 trillion, compared to $3.5 trillion for the multifamily market.1 Institutional investors make up less than 2 percent of the SFR market compared to 55 percent for the multifamily market. As more young families, families with children and retirees …

February 9, 2021

Features Retail

Coresight Research: Apparel Represents Bulk of Retail Closures During Pandemic

by Jeff Shaw February 4, 2021

NEW YORK CITY — More than 8,741 major retail locations closed their doors in the United States during 2020 totaling over 139 million square feet, largely as a result of lockdowns and restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic. That’s according to the “US and UK Store Closures Review 2020 and US Outlook 2021” report from Coresight Research, a commercial real estate data firm based in New York City. Apparel stores, including clothing, footwear and accessories, took the brunt of the fallout, accounting for 3,151 of the store closures. Home and office retailers came in a distant second with 1,428 store closures. The apparel store closings were driven by a few high-profile bankruptcies. Ascena Retail Group — which includes Ann Taylor, Catherines, Justice, Lane Bryant, LOFT and Lou & Grey brands — closed 1,156 stores; Foot Locker closed 125 stores; Gap closed 119 stores; and Victoria’s Secret closed 231 stores. Eight retailers accounted for 75 percent of the total apparel store closures. The outlook for 2021 doesn’t look much brighter. Coresight predicts total U.S. retail store closures will hit approximately 10,000 locations, a 14 percent increase over 2020. On the other side, Coresight tracked 3,304 new store openings in 2020, and …

February 4, 2021

Acquisitions Features Multifamily Seniors Housing

Seniors Housing Sellers Are Highly Motivated Coming Out of COVID-19, Webinar Panel Concludes

by Jeff Shaw February 1, 2021

Seniors housing investors may be switching from development to acquisitions in the near term, as highly motivated sellers seek to unload existing properties at a lower price than the cost of building a new community. The prospect of highly motivated sellers has largely come as a result of the stresses of operating seniors housing during a global pandemic. “We’re starting to see valuations that are well below what we can develop for,” said Bill Pettit of R.D. Merrill Co. “If it’s the right business model and the right locations, we’ll be much more active on the acquisitions side moving forward.” Pettit’s comments came during a webinar entitled “Seniors Housing Valuation Outlook: What’s Ahead for 2021?” The event, held Thursday, Jan. 28, also included Rich Lerner of Housing & Healthcare Finance, Adam Heavenrich of Heavenrich & Co., Michelle Kelly of National Health Investors (NHI), Chris Kronenberger of Blue Moon Capital Partners and moderator JP LoMonaco of Valuation & Information Group. “Value by nature is a long-term concept,” said LoMonaco. “Value is created by the anticipated benefits of ownership over the long term. But short-term issues can cause short-term impacts on value.” LoMonaco noted that the acquisitions market for seniors housing was …

February 1, 2021

Features Hospitality Industrial Multifamily Office Retail Southeast Southeast Feature Archive

COVID-19 Takes Heavy Toll on Commercial Property Values

by John Nelson January 29, 2021

By Brian Morrissey, Esq. and Lisa Stuckey, Esq. of Ragsdale Beals Seigler Patterson & Gray LLP Few commercial properties emerged with unscathed values from the harsh economic climate of 2020. Yet Georgia and many jurisdictions like it valued commercial real estate for property taxation that year with a valuation date of Jan. 1, 2020 — nearly three months before COVID-19 thrust the U.S. economy into turmoil. This means governments taxed commercial properties for all of 2020 on values that ignored the severe economic consequences those properties endured for more than 75 percent of the calendar year. When property owners begin to receive notices of 2021 assessments, which Georgia assessors typically mail out in April through June each year, property owners can at last seek to lighten their tax burden by arguing for reduced assessments. The pandemic hurt some real estate types more than others, however, and with both short-term effects and some that may continue to depress asset values for years. For taxpayers contesting their assessments, the challenge will be to show the combination of COVID-19 consequences affecting their property, and the extent of resulting value losses. The experiences of 2020 can serve as a roadmap for valuations in the …

January 29, 2021

Brickhouse Walker Dunlop Multifamily Washington D.C.

Content Partner District of Columbia Multifamily Southeast Southeast Feature Archive Walker & Dunlop

Spotlight on D.C.: Apartment Assets Resist Economic Turbulence

by Sarah Daniels January 28, 2021

The Washington, D.C. metropolitan area has been a perennial favorite for multifamily capital, particularly pension funds, life companies, family offices and other institutional investors and is often regarded as “recession-proof.” However, as we all know, 2020 was a year like no other. What impacts have COVID-19 and recent economic turmoil had on this market’s luster, and what do the prospects look like for investors, owners and operators in the long term? An Economy Buffered by Government and Technology The D.C. Metro’s response to the crisis has been one of the most robust, with local the economy currently 90 percent + open for business and no signs of a dip back into lockdown. From the initial shutdowns in March 2020 to the continued uncertainty of today, cities with heavy representation in retail, tourism and service sectors have experienced significant economic repercussions from COVID-19. In Washington, D.C., by contrast, having the federal government as the city’s largest employer has served as a major buffer. D.C. experienced a particularly acute government-mandated economic shutdown from March to May. While payroll performance in the District of Columbia’s leisure and hospitality sector declined nearly 60 percent from May 2019 to May 2020, jobs in this sector …

January 28, 2021

Features Hospitality Industrial Mixed-Use Multifamily New Jersey Northeast Office Property Type Restaurant Retail

US Commercial, Multifamily Construction Starts Down 20 Percent in 2020, Says Dodge Data

by John Nelson January 26, 2021

HAMILTON, N.J. —The value of commercial and multifamily construction starts in 2020 tumbled 20 percent to end the year at $193.4 billion, according to Dodge Data & Analytics. Within the top 20 metropolitan areas that the Hamilton-based research firm tracks, the fall was more severe as that group’s starts fell by 23 percent in value, or $111.1 billion. Overall, commercial real estate starts fell 26 percent in value to $104 billion, while multifamily building activity slid by 11 percent to $89.5 billion. Richard Branch, chief economist for Dodge Data, says that the COVID-19 pandemic had a significant negative impact on commercial and multifamily construction across the country with only a few markets seeing year-over-year increases in construction starts compared to 2019. “The construction sector will show signs of recovery in 2021, but, the road back to full recovery will be long and difficult. The effects of the pandemic on the U.S. economy and building markets will be felt for several years,” says Branch. “While some areas stabilized over the summer, the current wave of the virus has further hindered activity.” Only one metro area in Dodge Data’s top 10, Phoenix, reported a year-over increase in construction starts. The No. 7 …

January 26, 2021

Development Features Multifamily Seniors Housing

InterFace Panel: Seniors Housing Development Pushes Forward Despite Many COVID Delays

by Jeff Shaw January 22, 2021

Seniors housing construction has continued during the COVID-19 pandemic — but perhaps not on the developers’ original timelines. “We have seen just about every obstacle thrown at us, from government shutdowns to disruptions in the supply chain to subcontractors contracting COVID to inspectors not showing up,” said Charlie Jennings, chief development officer, Harbor Retirement Associates. “Every time I start to think the worst is behind us, there’s something waiting around the corner. Unfortunately, I don’t think we’ve gotten past that hump yet.” Harbor’s current seniors project under construction is now scheduled for completion about six months late due to COVID-19 complications, Jennings added. The comments came during a panel titled “The Development Outlook: Experts Analyze The Smartest Plays For Developers in 2021” during France Media’s InterFace Seniors Housing Investment, Development & Operations conference, held virtually in early December. Other panelists included Bryan Schachter, chief investment officer, Watermark Retirement Communities; Frank Muraca, president and senior planner, ARCH Consultants; Adam Kaplan, founder and CEO, Solera Senior Living; Chuck Hastings, vice president of finance and business development, Juniper Communities; and moderator Ryan Frederick, founder and CEO, SmartLiving 360. Schachter said that Watermark has seen development delays of four to six months for its …

January 22, 2021

Features

The Presentation Of Obsolescence Helps Commercial Property Owners Achieve Successful Tax Appeals

by Alex Tostado January 20, 2021

By Angela Adolph, Esq. Judith Viorst, author of the children’s book Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day, had nothing on 2020. By virtually every metric, 2020 was a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad year. Most states have some sort of catastrophe exemption for a property tax abatement or reduction tied to a defined disaster event. These statutes are state-specific, however, and few states had authority to address whether a property had to have sustained physical damage to qualify for catastrophe relief on property taxes. Most states, including Texas, eventually concluded that some form of physical damage was necessary for property values to be reduced following a disaster. Its neighbor, Louisiana, went the other direction, concluding that its disaster statute did not require physical damage, only that the property be inoperable due to a declaration of emergency by the governor. Accordingly, property values for the 2020 tax year could be reduced in Louisiana due to COVID-19-related economic losses. Pandemic paper trails Fortunately, 2021 gives all taxpayers a fresh start. Most states use Jan. 1 as the “lien date,” or valuation date for determining fair market value of property subject to ad valorem tax. For income-producing properties, …

January 20, 2021

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