Trump’s Tax Bill Met With Mixed Reviews Among CRE Industry
President Donald Trump’s new tax reform bill has been met with mixed reviews throughout the commercial real estate industry.
The U.S. House of Representatives released the bill, called The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act proposal, last week, revealing that two major industry tax breaks — the like-kind 1031 exchange and the carried interest tax break — have been preserved.
The like-kind exchange allows businesses to save millions by trading in older assets for something new, while the carried interest tax break is used by financial managers to cut their tax rates in half. It was originally put in place to incentivize long-term investment, CNBC reports.
Leading Commercial Real Estate Owners Reduce Energy Consumption
A new report from the Urban Land Institute’s Greenprint Center for Building Performance published this week shows that leading commercial real estate owners have demonstrated significant energy reductions since 2009.
The report tracked and analyzed 8,684 properties owned or managed by Greenprint members located across 28 countries.
These properties account for over 1.9 billion square feet of building area, according to the member-driven nonprofit organization, which focuses on improving environmental performance in the global real estate industry.
“The value of real estate assets under management by Greenprint members exceeds $1 trillion, which is more than 5% of the value of high-quality commercial properties globally,” according to the organization.
Drones, A Useful Tool For The Commercial Real Estate Market
Drones, also known as remotely piloted aircraft or RPAs, have become increasingly popular in recent years, both recreationally as well as commercially.
They are used in many industries including the commercial real estate market. Drones have many applications, not least of which is producing marketing material to attract potential property buyers. Commercial property owners or managers may also find that a drone will simplify their property inspections.
Why The Slowdown In Multifamily Starts Is Healthy
The decline in multifamily starts to approximately 20,000 units in 2017 in DFW has been widely publicized and is worthy of further discussion.
From a short-term perspective, tapping the brakes seems like a sensible response to the volume of unit deliveries projected over the next few years. Mitigating starts will enable properties to lease-up more quickly and possibly at higher rental rates.
In the long-term, given the growth in jobs and population coupled with the inability of first-time homebuyers to accumulate a sufficient amount of cash for down payments, the current level of multifamily construction seems appropriate.
3 Commercial Real Estate Trends To Watch In 2018
At the Commercial Economic Issues & Trends Forum on Friday, attendees got insights into how the economy and real estate market will interact over the next couple of years.
Here are a few takeaways that can help guide your decision-making and investment moves in 2018, fresh from the 2017 REALTORS庐 Conference & Expo in Chicago.
1. Don’t Believe the Hype
Whether it’s the White House’s line on tax reform or the media’s take on trends in the office sector, JLL Chief Economist Ryan Severino was quick to discredit dominant narratives.
The Beginner’s Guide To Commercial Real Estate Tech: What Exactly Is PropTech?
It is difficult to pinpoint when the term PropTech, which stands for property technology, rose to prominence in U.S. commercial real estate.
With the increased use of the term, the challenge is determining what it actually means. Is it synonymous with CRE Tech, which refers to all tech solutions in the entire CRE landscape? Or does PropTech refer to technology that supports real properties — both residential and commercial?
Commercial, Multifamily Borrowing Up 21% Year-Over-Year In U.S.
According to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s Quarterly Survey of Commercial/Multifamily Mortgage Bankers Originations, third quarter 2017 commercial and multifamily mortgage loan originations were 21 percent higher than during the same period last year and 8 percent higher than the second quarter of 2017.
“Borrowing and lending associated with commercial and multifamily real estate increased again in the third quarter, even as sales transaction volume slowed,” said Jamie Woodwell, MBA Vice President of Commercial Real Estate Research. ”
“Most property types and capital sources saw stronger lending activity than a year earlier, supported by solid property fundamentals and continued property value appreciation.”
Signs Of Stress In Commercial Real Estate
It has been more than a year since the election of Donald Trump … and the world has not come to an end.
It certainly has been an exciting and sometimes entertaining ride. Alas, the White House and Congress are not working “jointly and severally” to advance an agenda to move the country forward. But they did pass a $4 trillion budget! The Dow is at 23,000+. Employment may be up slightly.
In the commercial real estate sector, there are signs of stress. Construction costs have skyrocketed. Capacity is stretched. Staffing construction sites (of all sizes) is a challenge. Rents are rising consistently in multi-family housing. Retail rents are falling, office rents seem to be pretty much level. Warehouse and high-bay space are hard to find.
As Tech Start-Ups Mature, So Do Their Headquarters
Similar space races are happening in tech-oriented markets around the country, and like the decision of F5 Networks to move into a top tier, or “trophy,” building, more maturing tech companies are a main driver of occupancy in newer high-end offices.
That’s a departure from the days when tech start-ups preferred old warehouses and office buildings converted into wide-open loft offices. Full of exposed brick, wooden beams, high ceilings and concrete floors, the funky workspaces gave birth to tech enclaves in places like San Francisco’s South of Market neighborhood and Manhattan’s Flatiron district.
Your Office Rooftop Could Soon Be An Uber Aircraft Landing Site
Uber may soon be flying high above its competition.
The ride-sharing forerunner is teaming up with NASA to develop an aerial taxi project called Uber Elevate or UberAir. The small planes, which will be equipped with wing-mounted propellers, will take off and land vertically on building rooftops where they will also pick up and drop off customers, Space reports.
The move could have significant implications for the future of cities, which are only just starting to prepare for the influx of driverless cars, an industry that is estimated to grow from $3B in 2015 to $96B by 2025, the Wall Street Journal reports.
Thanks to this latest innovation, office landlords planning to rethink the use of their parking lots in preparation for autonomous vehicles may soon need to consider revamping their rooftops as well. Uber hopes the flying-taxi concept will take off in 2020 and will begin in three cities: Los Angeles, Dallas, and Dubai.
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