WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Federal Reserve plans to keep the target range for the federal funds rate between 0 and 0.25 percent until the end of 2023 due to economic activity and employment being well below that of the beginning of the year. The Washington, D.C.-based committee outlined economic conditions it wishes to see before raising rates, the main condition being inflation to exceed 2 percent “for some time.” Due to the COVID-19 outbreak, the Fed says the labor market will also need to return to “maximum employment” before raising interest rates again. The Fed expects to maintain an accommodative stance of monetary policy, which include increasing its holdings of Treasury securities and agency mortgage-backed securities. The Fed says its plan, which was made during the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting earlier this week, is dependent on the length and severity of the coronavirus pandemic.
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Diversified Healthcare Trust has completed a $26 million renovation of 1145 19th St. NW in Washington, D.C., a 133,000-square-foot medical office building. The renovations include a new glass façade, lobby lounge, fitness center, business center and an upgraded HVAC system. The property is situated less than one mile from downtown D.C. The RMR Group managed the renovations, Davis Construction was the general contractor and SmithGroup Architecture was the designer. Nick Zuppas and Andrew Papantoniou of Zuppas Medical Realty are leading the leasing efforts for the building.
WASHINGTON, D.C. — First-time unemployment claims were largely unchanged on a week-over-week basis as 860,000 Americans filed for unemployment insurance assistance for the week ending Sept. 12, the U.S. Department of Labor reported. The most recent figure is a 33,000-claim decrease from the previous week’s revised number. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones expected this week’s claims to total 875,000. The four-week moving average for this week was at 13.5 million, a decrease of 532,750 from the previous week’s revised average. Continuing claims, for which data is a week behind, came in at 12.6 million, a nearly 1 million decrease from the week ending Aug. 29.
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The National Multifamily Housing Council (NMHC) reported that 86.2 percent of apartment households paid September rent as of Sept. 13. NMHC surveyed its network of 11.4 million professionally managed units as part of its Rent Payment Tracker metric. The number of households paying rent this month compares similarly to Aug. 13, when 86.9 percent of renters made a full or partial payment. September’s tally, though, is behind Sept. 13, 2019, when 88.6 percent of renters made payments. “While it remains clear that many apartment residents continue to prioritize their housing obligations and that apartment owners and operators remain committed to meeting them halfway with creative and nuanced approaches, the reality is that the second week of September figures shows ongoing deterioration of rent payment figures, representing hundreds of thousands of households who are increasingly at risk,” says Doug Bibby, president of NMHC. On Sept. 1, the Trump Administration, with the guidance of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), issued an executive order halting evictions through the end of 2020. The NMHC released a statement expressing its “disappointment” in the order. NMHC releases the survey with the help of partners RealPage, ResMan, Yardi, Entrata and MRI …
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Commerce Department reported in its advanced estimate Wednesday morning that retail spending rose 0.6 percent on a month-over-month basis in August. Total sales for the month were $537.5 billion, up from $534.6 billion in July. This marks the fourth straight month retail sales rose since April, when sales plummeted 16.4 percent due to the coronavirus pandemic shutting down the U.S. economy in mid-March. The National Retail Federation (NRF) said it expected August numbers to slow due to federal assistance waning at the end of July, but the Washington, D.C.-based organization believes consumers are “in good shape” heading into the holiday season. “Over the past several months, consumers have responded well to federal relief measures that have supported the recovery, so it comes as no surprise that they would take a pause on spending as some of these programs tapered off at the end of July,” says Matthew Shay, CEO and president of the NRF. “We continue to advocate for additional stimulus measures to help the economy recover. With the holidays quickly approaching, our retailers are prepared to serve customers to meet all of their holiday needs and are embracing the new holiday tradition of shopping …
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The National Retail Federation (NRF) has reported that retailers unexpectedly increased imports for the holiday season, according to the monthly Global Port Tracker, which is released by the NRF and Hackett Associates. The expected twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) for the period between July and October is now just shy of 7.6 million, which would make 2020 the third-highest holiday “peak season” on record, the Washington, D.C.-based organization said. “It’s important to be careful how much to read into these numbers after all we’ve seen this year, but retailers are importing far more merchandise for the holidays than we expected even a month ago,” says Jonathan Gold, NRF’s vice president for supply chain and customs policy. “Some of these imports are helping replenish inventories that started to run low after consumers unleashed pent-up demand when stores reopened. But this is the clearest sign yet that we could be in for a much happier holiday season than many had thought.” The most recent numbers available for the Global Port Tracker is from July, when retailers imported 1.9 million TEUs, beating the forecast of just under 1.8 million.
WASHINGTON, D.C. — First-time unemployment claims for the week ending Sept. 5 reached 884,000, the U.S. Department of Labor reported Thursday morning. For the week ending Aug. 29, unemployment claims totaled 881,000. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones expected the weekly total to come in at 850,000, reflecting a downward trend from the previous week. The two previous weeks mark the first time since mid-March that unemployment claims have been fewer than 1 million in back-to-back weeks. Continuing claims — for which data is a week behind — ticked up to 13.8 million for the week ending Sept. 3, 93,000 higher than the week ending Aug. 29.
WASHINGTON, D.C. — CommonGrounds Workplace has opened two new coworking spaces in Washington, D.C., totaling 73,692 square feet. The first office location spans 29,509 square feet and occupies the entire second floor of 1500 K St. NW. The office building is one block north of The White House and less than one block from McPherson Station. The other location spans 44,183 square feet within a newly built, 11-story office building at 99 M St. E. CommonGrounds occupies the entirety of the eighth and ninth floors of the asset, which is located in D.C.’s Navy Yards district. The property is located four miles southeast of downtown D.C. and less than one mile from Nationals Park, home of MLB’s Washington Nationals. BBGM was the architect for both locations.
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. economy added nearly 1.4 million jobs in August, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported Friday. The most recent figure was on par with economists’ expectations, with The Wall Street Journal reporting an expected gain of just over 1.3 million. The unemployment rate dropped from 10.2 percent to 8.4 percent. Employment swelled in the government sector, which added 344,000 jobs in August, though 238,000 of the jobs are temporary 2020 Census workers. The retail sector added 249,000 jobs, continuing its climb back to pre-pandemic levels. The sector, which encompasses general merchandise stores, motor vehicle and parts dealers, electronics and appliance stores and miscellaneous store retailers, is still 665,000 jobs below the February total. Leisure and hospitality gained 174,000 jobs while education and healthcare services added 147,000 jobs. In August, average hourly earnings for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls rose by 11 cents to $29.47. The average workweek for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls increased by 0.1 hour to 34.6 hours in August. The BLS revised its June gains down by 10,000 jobs to just under 4.8 million. July was revised down by 29,000 jobs to just over 1.7 million.
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The District of Columbia Housing Finance Agency (DCHFA) is funding the construction of The Residences at Kenilworth Park, an affordable assisted living community in Washington, D.C.’s Ward 7. DCHFA issued $58 million in bond financing and underwrote $20 million in 4 percent Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) financing for the 157-unit development. Apartments at The Residences at Kenilworth Park will be reserved for seniors age 60 and above who require assistance with two or more activities of daily living. Residents must earn 60 percent or less of the annual median income (AMI), and includes Medicaid recipients. National Foundation for Affordable Housing Solutions Inc., Gragg Cardona Partners, The Carding Group and HallBridge Partners make up the development team constructing the five-story building. Total development costs are estimated at $85 million. A timeline for construction was not disclosed.