There is a widespread myth that needs to be questioned and confronted, and it goes something like this: First came Amazon and then came COVID-19, and both killed retail. However widespread, this view of the retail market is inaccurate and incomplete. To be sure, parts of the retail sector are experiencing challenging disruptions, but other aspects of the industry are expanding and thriving. The state of the retail market is a mixed picture of disruption,…
Seven Things to Know About Commercial Real Estate in 2022
While continuous improvement is needed, the economy is recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic. 2022 will build on the recovery that is already underway both in the macroeconomy and in commercial real estate markets. However, don’t expect commercial real estate markets or the rest of the economy to go back to exactly as things were before the pandemic. The pandemic was more than just a shock to aggregate demand. It changed the way people live, shop,…
Supply Chain Issues: A Critical Analysis
Evidence of the supply chain crisis we are facing is hard to miss. Right now, off the coast of Los Angeles, over 80 large container ships are sitting idle waiting to dock and offload their cargo. The ramifications of this and other bottlenecks in our global supply chain system have caused a backlog of nearly $3 billion in goods that have been ordered but not yet shipped, according to U.S. Census data.1 What caused this…
Multifamily Development Is Flourishing as Never Before
When the pandemic engulfed the world last year, few analysts predicted that the multifamily sector would flourish and thrive so well. Most suspected that the sector would be on life support. Yet, despite a yearlong national eviction moratorium, there hasn’t been a better time to be a big apartment-building landlord. Multifamily-property values have increased 13% since before the pandemic and more money is being invested now in apartment buildings than in any other type of…
REITs Outperform Private Equity Real Estate Funds
With interest rates at extremely lows levels and fears of rising inflation heating up, investors have flocked to real estate investment trusts (REITs) as an investment vehicle. Is it wise to do so, what is propelling this move, and what kind of performance should investors expect? This report will explain why there is a surge in demand for REITs and analyze how they are currently performing and how they have performed historically. 1 REITs are…
The Changing Nature of Industrial Demand
The U.S. warehouse market is booming like the red-hot housing sector, as companies compete for scarce distribution space to meet surging e-commerce demand. The competition is driving up industrial rents as retailers and logistics providers race to move goods closer to population centers, with some engaging in bidding wars for the most coveted sites. Businesses are pushing to deliver online orders faster to the homes of digital shoppers and responding to growing consumer spending that…
What to Expect from the U.S. Industrial Sector for the Remainder of 2021
Whereas the trajectories of other commercial real estate sectors have experienced significant periods of decline, or have been topsy turvy, the story of industrial real estate has been one of success and triumph. Even during 2020, one of the most challenging years for the global economy on record, industrial real estate has not merely survived, it has excelled and thrived. These trends will continue throughout the remainder of 2021 and beyond. This report will analyze…
Effects of Changing Tax Policy on Commercial Real Estate
In its “American Family Plan,” the Biden administration proposes to nearly double the capital gains tax for people who make more than $1 million a year. The plan will tax capital gains at the same rate wages and salaries are taxed and raise the top marginal income tax rate from 37% to 39.6% for households making $400,000 or more in income. If passed, these taxes will have significant ramifications on the US economy in general…
Data Centers: The Best Performing CRE Sector to Date
Data centers are handsomely rewarding investors for their confidence in the sector. As of Q4 2020, data center REITs yielded 17.2% in returns, beating out all other CRE asset classes’ REITs by a wide margin. During the same period, infrastructure REITs produced 10.2% returns, followed by industrial (9.8%), self-storage (8.2%), healthcare (-13.9%), office (-19.9%), lodging (-27.2%) and retail (-28.3%).1 This report will explore the dynamics propelling the sector to unparalleled success. 1 Prior to the…