Features

‘Titleman’ John Lotardo Says Buyers, Sellers Seek Solutions to Obstacles for Closings During Time of Pandemic

by John Nelson April 16, 2020

Closing deals in the current environment — or even getting them to progress — has been challenging for the past few weeks. Municipalities are struggling to keep up with volume, and online notarization is present in some states but not others. Western Real Estate Business recently spoke with John Lotardo, senior vice president and director of operations for Commonwealth National Title Insurance Co. based in Arizona. Lotardo, also known as the Titleman, spoke to WREB about how commercial real estate transactions are closing and moving forward during the COVID-19 pandemic. WREB: What is your “new normal”? How are you managing business day-to-day? Lotardo: My company has mandated that the majority of our teams work remotely. The majority of my time is remote as well. Being the operations director, I have to manage my employees, including our title and settlement employees, wherever they may be. As a national commercial office based in Arizona, we have always been forward-thinking with technology. Our transition to a mix of folks in the office together with a remote workforce, while it has been challenging at times as for many other businesses, it wasn’t as difficult as it could have been. We had the proper hardware, …

April 16, 2020

Features Seniors Housing

Adequate COVID-19 Testing in Short Supply in Senior Living Industry, Concludes NIC Webinar Panel

by Jeff Shaw April 15, 2020

“How do you fight the enemy without knowing where it is?” The question posed by Kathryn Sweeney, co-founder and managing partner of Blue Moon Capital Partners LP, underscores the need for senior living communities to have priority access to personal protective equipment (PPE) and adequate testing to battle the COVID-19 virus. “We’re really fighting this battle with very rudimentary and limited tools,” said Sweeney, whose Boston-based firm provides equity exclusively to the seniors housing sector. “We have had inconsistent access to tests in our portfolio. What we’re finding is those operators who are more on the healthcare end of the spectrum have relationships with healthcare professionals such that they are able to access tests more so than operators who are more on the social end of the spectrum,” said Sweeney. Her comments came during an April 9 webinar hosted by the National Investment Center for Seniors Housing & Care (NIC). The hour-long webinar, titled “The Intersection of Operators and the Financial Community in a COVID-19 Environment” and moderated by NIC’s chief economist Beth Burnham Mace, featured two other speakers: Fee Stubblefield, founder and CEO of The Springs Living; and Wendy Simpson, president and CEO of LTC Properties (NYSE: LTC). As …

April 15, 2020

Nashville Rent & Occupancy Forecast Under COVID-19, RED Capital

Content Partner Features Lument Multifamily RED Capital Group Southeast Tennessee

Multifamily Sector in Music City Hits All the Right Notes

by Sarah Daniels April 13, 2020

In Homer’s Odyssey, Odysseus resisted the Sirens’ beguiling music by lashing himself to the mast of his ship. But few relocating businesses, ambitious young people from the Midwest and Mid-South or multifamily developers have been able to resist the charming sounds wafting from Music City these days. Nashville’s pro-growth disposition, competitive operating cost structure, high quality of life and vital cultural scene make it a formidable competitor for investment and business relocation among U.S. growth markets. Beverage marketer Icee, e-commerce unicorn SmileDirectClub and Mitsubishi North America were just a few of the nearly 100 companies that elected to move headquarters operations to or expand in the Nashville area last year. The moves were emblematic of Nashville’s emergence as the go-to spot for major industries — Tennessee now ranks second among states for automobile manufacturing employment after Michigan — and fast-growing tech-focused start-ups. The pipeline is just as robust in 2020. Employment statistics speak for themselves. Nashville added 30,000 or more payroll jobs in each of the last eight years: one of only two U.S. metros in the under 1.5 million-job weight class to check that box (Austin is the other.) While the unemployment rate was only 2.8 percent in January, …

April 13, 2020

Features Multifamily Student Housing

The Art and Science of Branding, Repositioning Student Housing Communities

by Alex Tostado April 10, 2020

When prospective college student residents and their parents first encounter a housing property, be it in person or online, the brand is undoubtedly one of the first things they notice. Along with the name of the property, they’ll notice the logo and color scheme, and gradually the story told by other aspects of the building as well, from amenities to design choices. Returning students will usually have heard about the property one way or another, and will have an idea of what sort of reputation it enjoys around campus. Creating and maintaining a consistent, desirable brand is one of the paramount functions of student housing owners and operators, especially in today’s climate where there are usually many choices and discerning students carry high expectations into property tours. Student housing marketing agencies have in turn spent more and more time perfecting their brands in recent years, hoping to create an entity that aligns with students’ values. “It’s very important to establish your identity, understanding who your target market is, how you are unique and how you want to speak to the audience,” says Barbara Gretsch, co-owner and vice president of MSSmedia. “It’s really about building your perception among the customer base.” …

April 10, 2020

Atlanta Rent & Occupancy Forecast Under COVID-19 Stress

Content Partner Features Georgia Lument Multifamily RED Capital Group Southeast

Atlanta Economic Juggernaut Encounters COVID-19 Roadblock

by Sarah Daniels April 8, 2020

In January, the Atlanta market was ticking like a fine Swiss watch. With leadership from its robust crew of business, education, healthcare, accommodations and leisure services industries, the economy cruised into 2020 with a full head of steam. Although moderately slower than regional peers, Atlanta’s pace of job creation was considerably faster than state and national averages, contributing to falling unemployment — the metro rate was only 3.2 percent in January, the lowest ever for the first month of the year — and strong absorption of office space in blossoming Midtown. Construction projects large and small transformed the landscape at a formidable pace, molding urban neighborhoods in a grand style rarely seen in 21st century America. Multibillion dollar developments like Centennial Yards and the ambitious mass-transit-inspired Atlanta Beltline project promised to enhance the urban living environment while preserving Atlanta’s renowned quality of life. No commercial real estate segment was more active than multifamily. Last year, apartment properties valued at nearly $8 billion exchanged hands, establishing a metro series record. In addition, construction of more than 17,000 units is underway — assets with stabilized value of about $2.5 billion — and another 25,000 units are planned. Late-decade property performance was among …

April 8, 2020

Features

General Contractor Survey: 27 Percent of Firms Report Layoffs Since Coronavirus Outbreak

by Alex Tostado April 7, 2020

More than a quarter of general contracting firms in the U.S. have reported layoffs due to the nationwide coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak, a recent study by the Associated General Contractors of America (AGC) found. The survey was conducted from March 30 to April 2 for AGC members. Of the 1,296 respondents, 27 percent said they have had to lay off, furlough or fire employees. The survey was released April 3, the same day the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released its March job report, in which it reported the U.S. economy lost 701,000 jobs. The BLS found that the construction industry lost 29,000 jobs from February to March. AGC chief economist Ken Simonson notes that the BLS numbers are through March 12, when the COVID-19 outbreak was still in its relative infancy in the U.S. Indeed, AGC’s April 3 survey reflects the fast-spreading response to COVID-19, with 55 percent of firms reporting a delay or stoppage on worksites, a drastic jump from the survey released March 27, when 39 percent of firms reported a delay or stoppage. The survey released March 20 saw a 28 percent slowdown. The most common source of delay or disruption, cited by 35 percent of respondents, …

April 7, 2020

Features Multifamily Seniors Housing

Wide-Ranging Financial Fallout Expected as Seniors Housing Industry Confronts Pandemic, Says Economist

by Alex Patton April 3, 2020

Great uncertainties cloud the immediate outlook for the U.S. economy and the seniors housing industry in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. But one thing is certain: Unlike other industries that have been forced to shut down, senior living communities are open and continue to serve residents. With that framework in mind, a March 26 webinar sponsored by the National Investment Center for Seniors Housing & Care (NIC) addressed the ongoing financial implications of the COVID-19 pandemic for operators, developers and capital providers. The webinar is the first in a series of NIC-hosted webinars to address industry challenges related to the pandemic. Webinar participants included Beth Mace, NIC chief economist; Jim Costello, senior vice president, Real Capital Analytics; Kurt Read, principal, RSF Partners; Matthew Ruark, senior vice president, head of commercial and healthcare mortgage production, KeyBank Real Estate Capital; and Kevin McMeen, president, real estate, MidCap Financial Services. Early impact The immediate financial repercussions of the pandemic include a stall in transactions, a rise in lender caution, confusion over valuations, and a search for clarity on how the disease will impact occupancies going forward. The most startling data point was noted by Mace at the outset. Weekly jobless claims March …

April 3, 2020

Content Partner Features Industrial Lee & Associates Northeast Feature Archive Retail Western Feature Archive

Free Returns: How Reverse Logistics Impacts Industrial Real Estate

by Sarah Daniels April 2, 2020

The industrial sector has been the preferred asset class of commercial real estate in recent years. “The rate of return for industrial real estate has been higher than that of any other class for nearly half a decade,” says Jeff Rinkov, CEO of Lee & Associates. These rates of return are the result of permanent changes in consumer behavior and preferences — and recent events are driving more rapid changes in consumers’ e-commerce shopping. Though it remains to be seen how the economic impact of the coronavirus will influence various sectors of real estate, the pandemic has meant a sudden uptick in reliance upon industrial real estate as consumers turn to online shopping in the face of in-store shortages and shelter-at-home orders or social distancing practices. As brick-and-mortar stores close temporarily, retail companies and logistics professionals grapple with the increased volume of both online orders and e-commerce returns. What do facilities for e-commerce look like as customer expectations for e-commerce grow? How do companies process returns in an efficient and cost-effective manner, a critical element of success for e-commerce companies? Consumers increasingly prefer to shop online instead of going to brick and mortar stores. E-commerce sales accounted for more than …

April 2, 2020

Content Partner Features Lument Multifamily North Carolina RED Capital Group Southeast

Raleigh’s Potent Economic, Demographic Growth Rewards Multifamily Investors

by Sarah Daniels April 1, 2020

Raleigh checks all the boxes: a youthful, highly educated population, top research universities, a thriving large cap research and tech sector, plus clement weather. It’s Austin with more first-rate college basketball teams and less traffic. Despite its conspicuous lack of entry barriers, multifamily investors and developers have placed enormous bets on Raleigh’s continuing success. Since 2017, apartment properties valued at nearly $8 billion have exchanged hands and over 15,000 market-rate apartment units worth more than $2.5 billion were delivered — a commitment of capital the equivalent of roughly $11,000 for every working Triangle resident. Competition promises to be no less taxing this year. Supply in 2020 will approach 8,000 units, easily the largest vintage in market history and an increase of 40 percent from last year. Few players have regrets. The metro apartment and labor markets continue to perform at full throttle, and investment returns remain among the highest in the country. There were, however, moments of doubt. Recent preliminary Bureau of Labor Statistics payroll employment and hourly wage data for the nine-month period that ended in June 2019 recorded uncharacteristically soft results. Initial reports suggested that metro payroll job formation had limped along at a 1 percent annual pace …

April 1, 2020

Features

Despite Pandemic Damaging Economy, Real Estate Industry Leaders Remain Optimistic

by Alex Patton March 31, 2020

The rapid outbreak and spread of COVID-19 took many businesses, communities and governments by surprise. While the immediate health of employees is the chief concern, leaders in commercial real estate have started to address the impact of the virus on transactions in the coming year. Many full-service commercial real estate firms have established coronavirus resource pages on their websites, which include market research related to the virus. Some industry leaders distributed personal statements to their clients and partners that they will continue to offer their services through the health crisis and economic interruption. Rich Handler and Brian Friedman, CEO and President of Jefferies Financial Group respectively, expressed optimism and stressed that all companies and individuals should prioritize health, safety and emotional well-being of employees. Jefferies Financial Group jointly owns Berkadia together with Berkshire Hathaway. Handler and Friedman also noted that a large and non-partisan intervention from the federal government will be required to repair the economy, such as the $2 trillion stimulus package recently passed by both houses of Congress. The Jefferies leaders also noted that businesses should not forget the lessons learned from this interruption. “The one thing we can assure each of you is that we will not …

March 31, 2020

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