Southeast Feature Archive

US Multifamily Originations to Decline 20 to 41 Percent in 2020, Says Freddie Mac

by John Nelson August 4, 2020

WASHINGTON, D.C. — In its midyear multifamily outlook report, Freddie Mac predicts U.S. multifamily loan originations will drop severely for all of 2020 due to the outbreak of COVID-19 and the big blow the virus has dealt the U.S. economy. The gross domestic product from April to June plunged 32.9 percent on an annualized basis, according to the U.S. Commerce Department. The government-sponsored enterprise (GSE) is projecting that loan volume will decrease 20 to 41 percent across the multifamily sector this year compared with the total dollar amount of loans closed by lenders in 2019, which Freddie Mac estimates was $374 billion. Heading into this year, Freddie Mac expected that loan originations would increase 5 percent in 2020 to $390 billion. Depending on the overall strength of the U.S. recovery and the further spread of COVID-19, Freddie Mac outlined two scenarios for how the year will play out. The more optimistic scenario calls for the unemployment rate to fall just below 8 percent by the end of the year. The U.S. unemployment rate, which stood at 11.1 percent at the end of June, will be updated Friday when the Department of Labor releases the nonfarm payroll employment report for July. …

August 4, 2020

Features Multifamily Southeast Feature Archive Walker & Dunlop

Walker Webcast: Steady Apartment Rent Collections Buoyed by Unemployment Benefits

by Kristin Harlow July 31, 2020

BETHESDA, MD. — Several industry professionals are predicting that a second stimulus bill will be a $1.75 trillion package approved by Aug. 15. The comments came on a “Walker Webcast” webinar, entitled “All Eyes on Washington: What Will the Next Stimulus Bill Do for CRE?” that took place on Wednesday, July 29. Commercial real estate finance firm Walker & Dunlop hosts the webinar series. Willy Walker, chairman and CEO of Bethesda, Md.-based Walker & Dunlop, spoke with Bob Broeksmit, president and CEO of the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA); Doug Bibby, president of the National Multifamily Housing Council (NMHC); and Jeff DeBoer, president and CEO of Real Estate Roundtable. The three guests conversed on a variety of topics, with the possible extension of the eviction moratorium being one of the most discussed issues. Bibby of NMHC equated the moratorium to rent control. The notion sounds good because the consumer is protected, but it can have devastating effects on the owner, particularly in the multifamily space where a lot of landlords are smaller owner-operators. “They [multifamily owners] could lose everything with an eviction moratorium because they have mortgages, property taxes, insurance and payroll to pay,” said Bibby. Over 40 percent of apartment …

July 31, 2020

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Webinar: South Florida Retail Outlook: What is the Impact of COVID-19 on South Florida’s Retail Sector?

by Sarah Daniels July 27, 2020

(Panelists, clockwise from top left) Adam Tiktin, Tiktin Real Estate Investment Services; Rod Castan, Courtelis Company; Lyle Stern, Koniver Stern Group; Philip Rosen, Becker (moderator); Duane Stiller, Woolbright Development. Last week, Shopping Center Business and Southeast Real Estate Business hosted “South Florida Retail Outlook: What is the Impact of COVID-19 on South Florida’s Retail Sector?” Listen as a panel of retail experts discusses their gameplans: working with tenants and their employees as the industry seeks to adapt. Hear about attitudes towards loans, rent reductions, property value, next steps and more. See a list of some topics covered and their timestamps below: (07:00): How are restaurants and experiential tenants faring? (09:29) Adapting for the challenges of COVID-19 (17:28) South Florida retail rent trends over the next 180 days? (24:32) What can owners do today to position themselves to succeed? (36:00) When might we start to see real loan defaults and real distressed assets? (42:55) Lessons learned from 2007-2008 financial crisis (53:56) Decisions made in the pre-COVID-19 world that have carried over well into our current environment Hear how South Florida retail professionals are approaching industry challenges and evolving to meet the needs of retailers. Panelists: Philip Rosen, Becker (moderator) Adam Tiktin, …

July 27, 2020

Features Florida Retail Southeast Southeast Feature Archive

First Inning: South Florida Retail Market Resets as COVID-19 Throws a Curveball, Says SCB Webinar

by John Nelson July 23, 2020

The outbreak of COVID-19 has had an outsized impact on South Florida. According to Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, the region’s three primary counties rank in the top 20 of confirmed COVID-19 cases as of Wednesday, July 22. At 92,345 cases, Miami-Dade County is No. 4 on the list. Broward County comes in at No. 9 with 43,747 cases, and Palm Beach County is No. 20 with 27,506 cases. The surge in cases has had a pronounced effect on the area’s retailers as citizens have resumed their caution in public settings for fear of contracting the virus. “There is a tremendous amount of distress across South Florida’s economy, and especially in retail,” said Philip Rosen, shareholder and real estate chair of law firm Becker. Rosen’s comments came during South Florida Retail Outlook, a webinar hosted by Shopping Center Business that discussed the impact of COVID-19 on South Florida’s retail sector. Rosen moderated the panel discussion, which had 337 registrants. The pandemic’s effect is not all negative as grocers, drugstores and hardware stores have enjoyed increased sales activity amid the crisis. However, the bulk of retail categories are suffering from extended closures and operating at limited capacities. Restaurants in particular …

July 23, 2020

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Three Months of Forbearance? Better Think Twice

by John Nelson May 26, 2020

By Chad Thomas Hagwood, Hunt Real Estate Capital Thanks to the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), forbearance is now one of the biggest buzzwords in multifamily finance. When the FHFA announced at the end of March that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac would offer mortgage forbearance to multifamily properties facing hardship as a result of COVID-19, many multifamily owners adopted a wait-and-see attitude. That was the right decision. As April went on, the NMHC Rent Payment Tracker steadily trended higher. By May 13, full or partial rent for the month of May was 87.7 percent collected. But with unemployment spiking to record levels, rent collections through the spring and into the summer will most certainly decline at many properties, causing owners to give those forbearance offers a second look. My advice: if there is anything owners can do to avoid forbearance, they should. While tempting, mortgage forbearance should be considered a last resort. Forbearance could take a reputational toll It’s generally implied that entering into a forbearance agreement will not impact a borrower’s ability to secure financing in the future. In an age that obsessively collects and retrieves data of all sorts, experience — and common sense — suggests that …

May 26, 2020

Features Georgia Restaurant Retail Southeast Southeast Feature Archive Video Webinar

Retail Reboot Webinar: Wave of Second-Generation Restaurant Space to Hit Atlanta Market

by John Nelson May 11, 2020

As many as 150,000 to 200,000 restaurants nationwide may never fully reopen again after the COVID-19 pandemic subsides, according to estimates from the National Restaurant Association. This represents 15 to 20 percent of all U.S. restaurants. Though the metro Atlanta area’s restaurants have been allowed to reopen their dining rooms for a full two weeks following Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp’s directives in late April, early indications are that a large swath of operators are choosing to keep them closed and focus on takeout, delivery and catering. Others are making the hard choice to close their eateries permanently. As a result, there will be a wave of second-generation restaurant space that will need to be absorbed before new restaurants are built en masse in metro Atlanta, said Tom McCarty of barbecue restaurant chain Jim ’N Nick’s during a webinar hosted by France Media’s Shopping Center Business and sponsored by Retail Specialists. “From our standpoint, our developments are on hold for now,” said McCarty about the chain, which opened a location in metro Atlanta’s East Cobb district late last year. “The focus of the company is on getting our existing restaurants back up and running profitably. Once that happens, then we’ll start …

May 11, 2020

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JLL: Coronavirus Is Impacting Retail Supply Chains

by Sarah Daniels March 12, 2020

With the stock market dropping to lows unprecedented since the Great Recession on Monday and the World Health Organization (WHO) declaring the outbreak of COVID-19 a pandemic, concerns are now rising regarding coronavirus’ long-term impact on domestic investments. But will the disease have any impact on brick-and-mortar retail? According to a research report from JLL, while retail supply chains have already been affected, the health of retail as whole depends heavily on how long the pandemic lasts. Certain sectors have already been impacted, and those in the industry can model their current economic outlook on the course SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome) took in 2003. However, whether that model will hold as the pandemic evolves remains to be seen. The JLL report explains that the type of short-lived and limited outbreak created by SARS mainly affects the “first and second quarters with many retailers feeling impacts of a disrupted supply chain, but with a subsequent rebound in the following quarters.” Sectors already affected include inventory and complex supply lines. Chinese-manufactured goods may not be able to reach retailers in the coming weeks to months, as the retailers’ existing supply diminishes. Fashion stocks, especially for luxury retailers dependent on Chinese consumers …

March 12, 2020

Alabama Features Southeast Southeast Feature Archive

Property Tax Planning Delivers Major Savings

by John Nelson February 17, 2020

When it comes to property taxes, what you don’t know can hurt you. Whether it is failing to meet a valuation protest deadline, ignorance of available exemptions or perhaps missing an error in the assessment records, an oversight can cost a taxpayer dearly. Understanding common mistakes — and consulting with local property tax professionals — can help owners avoid the pain of unnecessarily high property tax bills. Think ahead on property taxes Many owners ignore property taxes until a valuation notice or tax bill arrives, but paying attention to tax considerations at other times can greatly benefit a taxpayer. For example, it’s good practice to ask the following questions before purchasing real estate, starting a project or receiving a tax bill. Does the property qualify for exemptions or incentives? Every state offers some form of property tax exemptions to specific taxpayers and property types. Examples include those for residential homesteads, charitable activities by some nonprofits and exemptions for pollution control equipment. Similarly, governments use partial or full property tax abatements in their incentive programs for enticing businesses to expand or relocate to their communities. While many of these programs are industry-specific, it is important to consider all of the taxpayer’s …

February 17, 2020

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MBA Forecasts U.S. Economy to Slow in 2020 as Job Market Weakens

by John Nelson February 10, 2020

SAN DIEGO — The U.S. economy is likely to take a hit this year from the effects of geopolitical uncertainty and a global recession in the manufacturing sector, according to Michael Fratantoni, chief economist for the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA). His forecast calls for U.S. GDP growth of 1.2 percent in 2020, down from 2.2 percent in 2019, and for job growth to dip from a monthly average of 175,000 last year to 150,000 this year. The unemployment rate, which currently stands at 3.6 percent and is near a 50-year low, is expected to reach 3.9 percent by year’s end. The wave of tumultuous events on the world stage have come fast and furious, the veteran economist observed. “Just recently you had the situation with the assassination of [Iran’s General Qassem Soleimani] and ballistic missiles being fired across the Middle East. Now we have got the coronavirus. We just concluded an impeachment trial. We have a presidential election. The trade wars of 2018 and 2019 are perhaps simmering down a little bit, but still a concern and still impacting a lot of decisions by private actors out there.” Such conflicts pose a threat to what has been a “remarkable” run …

February 10, 2020

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Egbert Perry and Affordable Housing: How One Man’s Vision Launched a National Movement

by Jaime Lackey January 12, 2020

When picturing the rebirth of downtown Atlanta, one of the first images to come to mind is the skyline — the iconic high-rises. Another, often overlooked, part of this picture includes Atlanta’s skywalks. In the early days of redevelopment, these walkways connected luxury buildings above urban neighborhoods that many had abandoned, and effectively furthered the separation of the “haves” from the “have-nots.” Iconic Atlanta developer Egbert Perry was driven to challenge development that emphasized the separation. From his perspective, perpetuating the separation of community members simply perpetuated the issues of inequity and injustice that plagued the city. Perry was motivated to bring people together in a different way, in neighborhoods that would appeal to everyone. Where others saw poverty, blight, and dilapidated housing projects, Perry saw potential — and pioneered a new approach to affordable and workforce housing, commercial real estate development, and community development and investment. The Story Begins at Centennial Place In 1994, when Perry left H.J. Russell & Company to start The Integral Group, he quickly came upon an opportunity to redevelop the area now home to Centennial Place. The 60-acre property was located in the heart of downtown Atlanta, and was considered to be the most …

January 12, 2020

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