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.
• Office Rents Climb, but Tenants Still Have Negotiating Power in Most Markets by Robert Carr of National Real Estate Investor.
Key Excerpt:
“Trophy office space has been doing very well, with rents that are 77 percent higher than those at non-trophy properties, according to a recent Skyline report from real estate services firm JLL. At the end of the first quarter, the average national rental rate for trophy office space was $58 per sq. ft., compared to $33 per sq. ft. for non-trophy office space. The gap has widened considerably since 2005, when trophy space was only commanding an average of $5 more per sq. ft., according to Julia Georgules, director of office research for JLL.”
• Apartment Occupancy at All-Time High: Here’s Why by Diana Olick of MSN Money.
Key Excerpt:
“Apartment demand, which some investors thought would abate as the housing market recovered, is doing just the opposite. It is also coming from both ends of the age scale. Millennials, finally finding jobs and moving out of group or family homes, are pushing rental demand; downsizing baby boomers, many of them soured on homeownership by losses from the housing crash, are doing the same.”
• CBRE Study Finds Significant Gap between Large and Small Office Buildings in Green Adoption in the U.S. by MarketWatch staff.
Key Excerpt:
“‘Our 2015 study confirmed that green building adoption has been primarily a big building, first-tier city phenomenon,’ said David Pogue, CBRE’s global director of corporate responsibility. ‘It would appear that many smaller buildings in the majority of large markets still have an opportunity to be ‘best in class’ among their peer set by achieving these certifications.’”
• The Top 5 Underserved Multi-Family Markets by Scott Baltic of Commercial Property Executive.
Key Excerpt:
“Using monthly Topline rents compiled by Yardi Matrix, [Steve] Sorensen said, ‘a case can be made that multi-family development could be shifted to take advantage of the strong rent increases in these less-developed markets.’”
• Commercial Real Estate Forecast After The Fed Tightens by Bill Conerly of Forbes.
Key Excerpt:
“Real estate investment trust prices have dipped the last few months, probably on expectations of rising interest rates on commercial mortgages. On the positive side, total returns for investment real estate, which include both operating earnings and price appreciation, have averaged 13 percent over the past four quarters, based on the properties surveyed by National Council of Real Estate Fiduciaries.”