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:
Growth in U.S. Property Prices Bounces Back After First Quarter Slowdown, CoStar
Key Excerpt:
“The U.S. property sales reflected the general economic slowdown seen in the first quarter as financial market volatility over global political concerns took a toll on the general economy at large. Due to the slow start to the year, CoStar analysts do not expect property price growth to match the record pace of the last two years.”
Prognosis Good for Health Care REITs, by Michele Lerner, REIT.com
Key Excerpt:
“Hospitals and health care providers own roughly 80 percent of the $315 billion worth of medical office buildings (MOBs) in the United States, according to real estate services firm JLL. However, health care REITs are looking to capture more of the market share in the property sector as they search for stable assets.”
Urban retail development takes creativity, RECon panel says, ICSC.org
Key Excerpt:
“Food-and-beverage is becoming a more dominant component in urban retail developments, from both a customer-retention perspective and as a profit center, the panelists said. ‘We heard from residents in Brooklyn [N.Y.] who said we’d better have food, but food courts are dead,’ said Chris Conlon, executive vice president and COO of Acadia Realty Trust.”
Yardi: Rent Growth to Level Off in 2016, by Kayla Devon, Multifamily Executive
Key Excerpt:
“The average national occupancy rate in April held at 96.2 percent for working-class Renter by Necessity properties and 96 percent for luxury lifestyle units. The top three metros experiencing the highest occupancy rates at 97 percent were all in California: Inland Empire, Orange County and Los Angeles. The metros with the lowest occupancy rates included San Antonio, Houston (94.9 percent), Las Vegas and Austin (95.0 percent).”
Economy Watch: Fast-Casual Restaurants to Lead Retail Growth, by Dees Stribling, Commercial Property Executive
Key Excerpt:
“Restaurants will remain the strongest single category in terms of overall unit growth across all sectors, with franchise-driven and fast-casual chains like fast-fire pizza and sandwich shops leading the way. Rapid growth in e-commerce will continue to impact the apparel, books/media/toys, consumer electronics, department store and financial services sectors, and generally not for the better.”