coronavirus

Seniors Housing Sellers Are Highly Motivated Coming Out of COVID-19, Webinar Panel Concludes

by Jeff Shaw February 1, 2021

Seniors housing investors may be switching from development to acquisitions in the near term, as highly motivated sellers seek to unload existing properties at a lower price than the cost of building a new community. The prospect of highly motivated sellers has largely come as a result of the stresses of operating seniors housing during a global pandemic. “We’re starting to see valuations that are well below what we can develop for,” said Bill Pettit of R.D. Merrill Co. “If it’s the right business model and the right locations, we’ll be much more active on the acquisitions side moving forward.” Pettit’s comments came during a webinar entitled “Seniors Housing Valuation Outlook: What’s Ahead for 2021?” The event, held Thursday, Jan. 28, also included Rich Lerner of Housing & Healthcare Finance, Adam Heavenrich of Heavenrich & Co., Michelle Kelly of National Health Investors (NHI), Chris Kronenberger of Blue Moon Capital Partners and moderator JP LoMonaco of Valuation & Information Group. “Value by nature is a long-term concept,” said LoMonaco. “Value is created by the anticipated benefits of ownership over the long term. But short-term issues can cause short-term impacts on value.” LoMonaco noted that the acquisitions market for seniors housing was …

February 1, 2021

Features Hospitality Industrial Multifamily Office Retail Southeast Southeast Feature Archive

COVID-19 Takes Heavy Toll on Commercial Property Values

by John Nelson January 29, 2021

By Brian Morrissey, Esq. and Lisa Stuckey, Esq. of Ragsdale Beals Seigler Patterson & Gray LLP Few 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. This means governments taxed commercial properties for all of 2020 on values that ignored the severe economic consequences those properties endured for more than 75 percent of the calendar year. When property owners begin to receive notices of 2021 assessments, which Georgia assessors typically mail out in April through June each year, property owners can at last seek to lighten their tax burden by arguing for reduced assessments. The pandemic hurt some real estate types more than others, however, and with both short-term effects and some that may continue to depress asset values for years. For taxpayers contesting their assessments, the challenge will be to show the combination of COVID-19 consequences affecting their property, and the extent of resulting value losses. The experiences of 2020 can serve as a roadmap for valuations in the …

January 29, 2021

Development Features Multifamily Seniors Housing

InterFace Panel: Seniors Housing Development Pushes Forward Despite Many COVID Delays

by Jeff Shaw January 22, 2021

Seniors housing construction has continued during the COVID-19 pandemic — but perhaps not on the developers’ original timelines. “We have seen just about every obstacle thrown at us, from government shutdowns to disruptions in the supply chain to subcontractors contracting COVID to inspectors not showing up,” said Charlie Jennings, chief development officer, Harbor Retirement Associates. “Every time I start to think the worst is behind us, there’s something waiting around the corner. Unfortunately, I don’t think we’ve gotten past that hump yet.” Harbor’s current seniors project under construction is now scheduled for completion about six months late due to COVID-19 complications, Jennings added. The comments came during a panel titled “The Development Outlook: Experts Analyze The Smartest Plays For Developers in 2021” during France Media’s InterFace Seniors Housing Investment, Development & Operations conference, held virtually in early December. Other panelists included Bryan Schachter, chief investment officer, Watermark Retirement Communities; Frank Muraca, president and senior planner, ARCH Consultants; Adam Kaplan, founder and CEO, Solera Senior Living; Chuck Hastings, vice president of finance and business development, Juniper Communities; and moderator Ryan Frederick, founder and CEO, SmartLiving 360. Schachter said that Watermark has seen development delays of four to six months for its …

January 22, 2021

District of Columbia Southeast

Another 900,000 Americans File for First-Time Unemployment Assistance

by Alex Tostado January 21, 2021

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Another 900,000 Americans have filed first-time unemployment insurance claims for the week ending Jan. 16, the U.S. Department of Labor reported Thursday. The most recent figure is a decrease of 39,000 claims from the previous week’s revised level of 926,000, but still remains higher than pre-pandemic levels. Initial weekly claims hovered around 200,000 in January and February of last year. The four-week moving average increased by 23,500 claims to 848,000 for the week ending Jan. 16. Continuing claims — for which data lags a week — totaled just under 5.1 million for the week ending Jan. 9. The number is a 127,000-claim decrease from the week ending Jan. 2.

January 21, 2021

Features

The Presentation Of Obsolescence Helps Commercial Property Owners Achieve Successful Tax Appeals

by Alex Tostado January 20, 2021

By Angela Adolph, Esq. Judith Viorst, author of the children’s book Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day, had nothing on 2020. By virtually every metric, 2020 was a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad year. Most states have some sort of catastrophe exemption for a property tax abatement or reduction tied to a defined disaster event. These statutes are state-specific, however, and few states had authority to address whether a property had to have sustained physical damage to qualify for catastrophe relief on property taxes. Most states, including Texas, eventually concluded that some form of physical damage was necessary for property values to be reduced following a disaster. Its neighbor, Louisiana, went the other direction, concluding that its disaster statute did not require physical damage, only that the property be inoperable due to a declaration of emergency by the governor. Accordingly, property values for the 2020 tax year could be reduced in Louisiana due to COVID-19-related economic losses. Pandemic paper trails Fortunately, 2021 gives all taxpayers a fresh start. Most states use Jan. 1 as the “lien date,” or valuation date for determining fair market value of property subject to ad valorem tax. For income-producing properties, …

January 20, 2021

District of Columbia Southeast

Initial Weekly Unemployment Assistance Claims Jump to 965,000 as Coronavirus Cases Climb

by Alex Tostado January 14, 2021

WASHINGTON, D.C. — An additional 965,000 Americans filed for first-time unemployment assistance for the week ending Jan. 9, the U.S. Department of Labor reported Thursday. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones expected the total to reach 800,000, similar to the previous week’s revised total of 784,000. A main reason for the increase in claims is further government restrictions due to the spike in COVID-19 cases and deaths. According to Johns Hopkins University (JHU), there have been 384,794 deaths in the United States since the onset of the pandemic, with more than 4,400 recorded Tuesday alone. The four-week moving average increased by 18,250 claims to 834,250 for the week. Continuing claims, for which data is a week behind, totaled 5.3 million for the week ending Jan. 2, an increase of 199,000 claims over the previous week.

January 14, 2021

Michigan Midwest Restaurant Retail

Indoor Dining Expected to Resume Feb. 1 in Michigan

by Kristin Harlow January 14, 2021

LANSING, MICH. — The State of Michigan has continued its ban on indoor dining, but is expected to lift the restriction beginning Feb. 1. Indoor dining will resume with “mitigation measures, capacity limits and a curfew,” according to the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services. For now, a new epidemic order issued by the department that is valid from Jan. 16-31 enables Michigan residents to participate in indoor group exercise and non-contact sports, as long as masks and social distancing guidelines are in place. College and university students may return to campus for the winter semester and restart in-person courses beginning Jan. 18. Indoor residential gatherings remain limited to 10 people and two households. As of Jan. 13, there were 525,612 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Michigan and 13,501 deaths.

January 14, 2021

Michigan Midwest

Detroit Auto Show Cancelled for 2021, Scaled-Down Version to Take Place in Pontiac

by Kristin Harlow January 12, 2021

DETROIT — The Detroit auto show, officially known as the North American International Auto Show, has been cancelled this year, according to media reports. The show, which was originally scheduled to take place at TCF Center this summer and then postponed to September, will now be replaced by an event at a racetrack in Pontiac, about 20 miles northwest of Detroit. This reimagined version of the Motor Bella concept is scheduled to take place Sept. 21-26. Motor Bella, a showcase of European supercars, was originally intended to be one of several components of the show’s schedule. The Detroit auto show has not taken place since January 2019. The show’s economic impact was estimated at up to $450 million per year, according to the Detroit Free Press.

January 12, 2021

District of Columbia Southeast

U.S. Economy Loses 140,000 Jobs in December, First Decline in Seven Months

by Alex Tostado January 8, 2021

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. economy lost 140,000 jobs in December, marking the first overall decrease since May 2020, the Department of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported Friday. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones had expected the report to show a gain of 50,000 jobs, still a muted expectation compared to November’s gains. The unemployment rate remained unchanged from November at 6.7 percent. The BLS highlighted increased COVID-19 cases and the effort to contain the pandemic as a major reason for the job losses. As of Friday morning, there were a reported 21.6 million confirmed cases in the U.S., according to according to Johns Hopkins University (JHU). The leisure and hospitality sector took the biggest hit, losing 498,000 jobs for the month. A majority of the losses came in food services and drinking places (negative 372,000). Since February, employment in leisure and hospitality is down by 3.9 million jobs, or 23.2 percent. Employment in private education decreased by 63,000 in December. Employment in the industry is down by 450,000 since February. There were some sectors that showed positive growth. Employment in professional and business services increased by 161,000. Retail trade added 121,000 jobs, while the construction sector added 51,000. In December, the …

January 8, 2021

Features Walker & Dunlop

Exit from Pandemic Will Mirror a Butterfly’s Flight Path, Says Economist Peter Linneman

by Kristin Harlow January 8, 2021

The U.S. economy’s exit from the COVID-19 pandemic will mirror the flight path of a butterfly, according to economist Dr. Peter Linneman. In other words, it will move forward but also up, down and sideways — quite erratic and not terribly fast. Linneman’s comments came during a “Walker Webcast” hosted by Walker & Dunlop CEO Willy Walker on Wednesday, Jan. 6. The butterfly stage will continue until enough people get vaccinated where Americans feel safe resuming pre-pandemic activities, argued Linneman. Once that occurs, we’ll enter the flight path of a more steady “migratory bird.” Linneman’s best guess for that timeline is June or July of this year. In order to gauge the economy’s progress, it’s best to monitor GDP growth and employment, not corporate profits or the stock market, said Linneman. In Linneman’s view, 15 percent of businesses and citizens are “really struggling” and will need continued relief and roughly six more months to get their footing. A stimulus focused on that 15 percent segment — including hotel, airline and restaurant workers — is needed, according to Linneman. “It’s not about spending; it’s about targeting,” he said. If the U.S. government can effectively target that 15 percent with stimulus relief, …

January 8, 2021

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