NAIOP: Commercial Real Estate Industry Sentiment Up to 56 in September, Near Pre-Pandemic Level

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Commercial real estate professionals indicate conditions in the industry have returned to approximately where they were before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to The National Association of Industrial and Office Parks (NAIOP) Fall 2021 Commercial Real Estate Sentiment Index.The index for September 2021 came in at 56 out of 100, up slightly from 54 in April 2021 and identical to March 2019, a year before the pandemic began. At the pandemic’s worst point …

October 14, 2021Features, Leasing Activity, Market Reports, Southeast Feature Archive

Rise of Remote Workforce Creates Paradigm Shift in Office Sector

In September, President Joe Biden issued a federal edict for large employers (100 employees or more) to require vaccines against COVID-19, or requiring weekly COVID-19 testing. The latest reporting out of Washington, D.C., is that the mandate carried out by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) will be enforced with hefty fines for noncompliance.Several blue-chip companies such as Anthem, Delta Air Lines, Google, Microsoft, Salesforce, Twitter, Tyson Foods, ViacomCBS, The …

October 12, 2021Features, Leasing Activity, Office, Southeast, Southeast Feature Archive

After 18 Months, Seniors Housing Operators More Adept at Handling COVID-19 Crisis, Says InterFace Panel

ATLANTA — Seniors housing operators have been grappling the past 18 months with how to maintain their properties and keep occupancy high while also protecting their staff and residents, who are the most vulnerable population for infections and death from the COVID-19 outbreak. With the rise of the Delta variant in recent weeks, owners and operators are having to make tough decisions to care for their residents, although now they have built some muscle memory on how to operate effectively amid …

September 7, 2021Conference Coverage, Features, Georgia, Seniors Housing, Southeast, Southeast Feature Archive

Fitness Centers, Outdoor Spaces and Units All Becoming Larger, Say Seniors Housing Development Panelists

ATLANTA — Driven by the desire of a healthy lifestyle, two areas that senior living developers are currently focusing on are the fitness center and outdoor spaces, according to Scott Gensler, vice president of business development with Erickson Senior Living. “Every time I look at a plan, the fitness center gets bigger and bigger and bigger,” said Gensler. “Then we open it, and it’s still not big enough.”Not only is the fitness center becoming larger, but it’s also becoming …

August 25, 2021Conference Coverage, Features, Multifamily, Seniors Housing, Southeast Feature Archive

No Place Like Home: SFR Market Grows in Southeast as In-Migration Soars

By Sudha Reddy, Haven Realty CapitalSingle-family rentals have taken off in various areas across the country. But they’re boiling in the Southeast.The strength in the Southeast shouldn’t be a surprise as the region has enjoyed substantial employment and population growth over the past decade — well before COVID-19 hit last year. In 2018, the Southeast led other regions in net inflow, gaining around 959,000 new residents from different areas of the United States and around the …

August 17, 2021Features, Multifamily, Southeast Feature Archive

Vaccines, Stimulus Checks are Giving US Retail Sector a ‘Shot in the Arm,’ Says NRF Chief Economist

The U.S. federal government is playing an active role in consumer spending with three stimulus packages passed in the past 12 months, which is helping support the economy during this pandemic-induced recession. Americans have received thousands of dollars from the government and are opting to spend their newfound discretionary income on more goods and services, not to mention savings and paying bills.“It helped a lot of individuals get by,” says Jack Kleinhenz, chief economist for the …

June 3, 2021Features, Retail, Southeast Feature Archive

Property Managers in D.C. Can Avoid Unwelcome Property Tax Surprises by Managing Liabilities

By Sydney Bardouil, Esq.After the tumult and disruptions of 2020, the last thing taxpayers need is another surprise. Our society craves predictability more than ever before, and commercial real estate owners want predictability in their property taxes.In the District of Columbia, commercial real estate owners keen to make their future expenses more predictable can start by familiarizing themselves with the full gamut of real property liabilities. In addition to the standard annual …

March 11, 2021District of Columbia, Features, Southeast, Southeast Feature Archive

NRF: US Retail Sales to Grow Between 6.5 and 8.2 Percent in 2021

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The National Retail Federation (NRF) predicts that U.S. retail sales will grow anywhere from 6.5 percent to 8.2 percent this year, with a total of more than $4.3 trillion in sales. The NRF attributes the expected growth in retail sales to the effectiveness of the COVID-19 vaccines over the course of the year, which will lead to stores to be frequented en masse.Many Americans were homebound in 2020 and so in turn they shifted to a more e-commerce focus. Online sales grew …

March 1, 2021District of Columbia, Features, Southeast, Southeast Feature Archive

COVID-19 Takes Heavy Toll on Commercial Property Values

By Brian Morrissey, Esq. and Lisa Stuckey, Esq. of Ragsdale Beals Seigler Patterson & Gray LLPFew 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.[caption id="attachment_283346" align="alignright" width="100"] Brian …

January 29, 2021Features, Hospitality, Industrial, Multifamily, Office, Retail, Southeast, Southeast Feature Archive

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

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 …

January 28, 2021Content Partner, District of Columbia, Multifamily, Southeast, Southeast Feature Archive, Walker & Dunlop