Each Wednesday, The Wrap
presents a compilation of recent noteworthy commercial real estate stories from
a variety of publications. Below are four stories that caught our eyes in
recent days.
• “Congress
Looks at REIT Tax Exemption” by A.D. Pruitt of The Wall Street Journal.
As part of its comprehensive review of the tax code, the
House Ways and Means Committee is reviewing the tax exemption REITs have
enjoyed for decades, Pruitt reports.
“Like all other aspects of the code, it is reasonable to
expect that REITs would be included in any top-to-bottom review of the code,”
said a spokeswoman for the Ways and Means committee. However, because the
exemption doesn’t pose a major loss of revenue to the Treasury, industry
officials say it is unlikely that REITs will lose their exemption status,
Pruitt reports.
Under the current tax code, REITs do not have to pay
corporate taxes on their income as long as at least 90 percent of their taxable
income is paid in dividends, Pruitt notes.
• “Don’t
Look Now But Warehouse Demand Off to Strongest Start Since 2008” by Randyl
Drummer of CoStar.
After finishing strong in 2012, this year is proving to be
equally strong for the U.S. warehouse market thanks to increases in trade and manufacturing
and the recovery of the housing market, Drummer reports.
Forty-three of the 54 largest U.S. markets posted positive
net absorption for industrial space, according to Rene Circ of CoStar’s
Property and Portfolio Research (PPR). A recent transaction data survey by PPR
showed warehouse new supply and demand at their strongest levels in at least
five years.
During the first quarter, developers completed almost 13
million square feet of new warehouse space and 38 million square feet is still
under construction, Drummer reports.
• “Hot
Hotels: Big Boost Ahead for Lodging” by John Salustri of GlobeSt.com.
If the 2,500 hotel transactions that took place last year
are any indication, hotel property asset sales will continue to climb through
2013, according to Gregory LaBerge, national director of Marcus &
Millichap’s National Hospitality Group.
Supply was down last year, but demand soared; 2012 posted
record room sales at nearly 1.1 billion nights, according to LaBerge.
LaBerge says international business travel and tourism,
along with low interest rates, are contributing to the growth in property sales.
National occupancy will rise 60 basis points to 62 percent
in 2013, with ADR and RevPAR rising 4.8 percent and 5.8 percent, respectively,
according to the National Hospitality Group’s latest report.
• VIDEO:
“Awareness of Environmental Issues is Key for REITs, Farer Says” by
REIT.com.
In
this clip, Matt Bechard of REIT.com sits down for an interview with David
Farer, chairman of the environmental department at Greenbaum Rowe Smith &
Davis LLP, during the recent REITWise 2013 conference.
The two discuss upcoming environmental legislation that will
affect REIT development and trends emerging in green building.