The Open-Air Advantage: Flexibility, Diversity and Adaptability Drive Sustained Appeal

By Matthew Harding, CEO, Levin Management Corp.Serving as one-stop destinations to meet consumers’ daily needs, open-air shopping centers — especially those with grocery anchors — have long been a fan favorite of shoppers, tenants and investors. Over the past 18 months, this asset class has again proven its ability to adapt and serve in any market climate — and under the most challenging of circumstances. Operational Flexibility Is KeyBy their nature, neighborhood, …

September 13, 2021Market Reports, Northeast, Northeast Market Reports, Retail

How New York City Construction Firms Can Position Themselves for Leadership Transitions

By Phil Ross, CPA, accounting & audit partner, Anchin, Block & Anchin LLPAfter nearly 15 months of shutdowns and restrictions, New York City has taken a major step forward. Seventy percent of the city's residents are now vaccinated, and restrictions significantly reduced across the area’s commercial spaces, from offices and retail to dining and hospitality.Mask mandates have been lifted and the hum of the metro area’s business districts is growing loud again. With an …

August 25, 2021Market Reports, Northeast, Northeast Market Reports

How Multifamily Owners Can Cater to the Northeast’s Growing Base of Life Sciences Renters

By Justin Wybenga, vice president of asset services, GMH CommunitiesEvery day, we see the world constantly changing. Whether it’s advancements in technology, culture, arts or sciences, there are many things to look forward to as life and business return to normal.One sector of commercial real estate that continues to experience breakthroughs is life sciences. Case in point: Mayor Bill de Blasio and the NYC Economic Development Corp. announced that the organization would double its …

August 17, 2021Healthcare, Market Reports, Multifamily, Northeast, Northeast Market Reports, Office

Commercial Borrowers in the Northeast Benefit from Elevated Liquidity

By Taylor Williams After months of disruption and uncertainty, commercial lenders throughout the country and the Northeast are eager to deploy funds, creating an environment in which borrowers are somewhat insulated from economic and geopolitical forces that threaten to derail the recovery. With interest rates still at historic lows and investors of all types looking to recoup returns unexpectedly lost to COVID-19, there is tremendous liquidity in the market. There’s also the simple fact …

August 13, 2021Market Reports, Northeast, Northeast Market Reports

Low Interest Rates Spearhead Uptick in Retail Investment Throughout Boston

By Taylor Williams The business of trading retail properties is booming across the greater Boston area, and the combination of cheap capital, a desire to recoup lost business and potential changes in tax law are prompting buyers and sellers alike to transact at a frenetic pace. As is often the case in times of robust investment sales activity, low interest rates are the straw that stirs the drink. At its latest meeting in June, the Federal Reserve opted to hold the federal funds rate — the …

August 6, 2021Market Reports, Massachusetts, Northeast, Northeast Market Reports, Retail

Qualified Labor, Healthy Tenant Demand Drive Life Sciences Development in Boston

By Brendan Carroll, director of research, Cushman & Wakefield The rapid emergence of greater Boston in the first two decades of the 21st century as a global center of advanced, technology-assisted biology has been followed by an even faster rate of growth since the start of the new decade. We have reached a critical mass in the greater Boston market, where we have developed a combination of skills, institutions and collaboration between companies that is supported and financed by an …

July 28, 2021Hospitality, Market Reports, Massachusetts, Northeast, Northeast Market Reports, Office

Northeast Property Owners: Beware Overlap Between Property Tax Valuation Methods

There are multitudes of ways for property owners to reduce their tax burdens, as well as missteps that can derail a tax strategy. With that in mind, taxpayers should beware of trying to prove a low value for a tax appeal while simultaneously claiming a higher value in another proceeding. And here is how it can happen. Protesting a High Assessment Most real estate taxes in the Northeast -- including those in New York, Pennsylvania, Connecticut and Massachusetts -- have an “ad valorem” or …

July 21, 2021Market Reports, Northeast, Northeast Market Reports

Rent Growth, Absorption in Boston Multifamily Market Begin to Exceed Expectations

By Simon Butler, vice chairman, CBRE; Biria St. John, vice chairman, CBRE; John McLaughlin, senior vice president, CBRE; and Colleen Pentland Lally, vice president, CBRE As we emerge from pandemic-era lockdowns and restrictions, Boston’s multifamily market is proving once again to be extremely resilient. With businesses, offices, restaurants and leisure activities rapidly returning to normal, both the overall economy and multifamily fundamentals are rebounding with a velocity that has far …

July 16, 2021Market Reports, Massachusetts, Multifamily, Northeast, Northeast Market Reports

Student Housing Sector Leads New York City Multifamily Market’s Comeback

By Mark Fogel, founder, ACRES CapitalDespite the pandemic-related uncertainty that dominated the markets in 2020, the student housing sector consistently displayed strong pre-lease occupancy rates among properties under construction, suggesting that the asset class would be well-positioned to hit the ground running in 2021.According to RealPage Analytics, students, encouraged by the prospect of fully reopened campuses, fueled a nearly 10 percent nationwide increase in pre-lease …

July 8, 2021Market Reports, Multifamily, New York, Northeast, Northeast Market Reports, Student Housing

Northeast Developers Push for Local Retail in Mixed-Use Projects

By Taylor Williams As consumers throughout the Northeast move closer to returning to their pre-pandemic lifestyles, unleashing pent-up demand on the retail, restaurant and entertainment sectors, owners of mixed-use properties are gaining a renewed appreciation for local concepts that create a special sense of identity. Of course, the inclusion of local uses and concepts in the larger overall retail tenant base is nothing new in the world of mixed-use development. And sources agree that having …

July 6, 2021Development, Market Reports, Mixed-Use, Northeast, Northeast Market Reports, Retail