Each Wednesday, The Wrap presents a compilation of recent noteworthy commercial real estate stories from a variety of publications. Below are links to five stories that caught our eyes in recent days.
• Tenants, Investors Still Showing Love for Malls, Just Not for Lower-Tier Properties by Mark Heschmeyer of CoStar.
Key Excerpt:
“For retail REITs and retailers alike, the game plan has been the same ever since shoppers began shifting more of their purchases online and patronizing a smaller and more-select number of centers. The shift in consumer shopping patterns has accelerated a major repositioning of mall portfolios by mall REITs. Retail tenants too are culling through their store networks, seeking to get out of low-sales locations and relocate to better-performing malls.”
• Apartment Rents Grow Faster than Incomes by Bendix Anderson of National Real Estate Investor.
Key Excerpt:
“The average employee isn’t getting a big raise this year — but apartment rents are growing more quickly than ever. 'Across most markets, renters are paying a higher percentage of their incomes in rent,' says Luis Mejia, director of U.S. multifamily research with the portfolio strategy division of research firm CoStar.”
• Three Millennial Social Trends and the Retail IT Response by Dan Berthiaume of Chain Store Age.
Key Excerpt:
“Back in September 2013, I wrote a TechBytes column about how millennials aren’t that different from prior young generations in their interests and needs. I have since realized there are a few unique millennial social trends which reflect specific generational consumer attributes. Using leading-edge technology, retailers can effectively meet the generational needs of this increasingly important customer demographic.”
• 5 Things You Need to Know About Lender Requirements by Kevin Smith for Multi-Housing News.
Key Excerpt:
“When purchasing or refinancing a commercial or multifamily real estate property, buyers are required by lenders to secure insurance coverage that meets minimum standards. The minimum requirements set by lenders are often just that — the minimum coverage you should seek to protect your property. Here are five major considerations to help you determine if lender insurance requirements are adequate enough protection for your real estate investment.”
• Data Differs Between Urban Core, Suburbs by Amy Wolff Sorter for Axiometrics Inc.
Key Excerpt:
“Though Axiometrics’ data points to continual annual effective rent growth rate of 5 percent, these metrics differ between urban core submarkets and their suburban counterparts.”