Commercial, multifamily borrowing in U.S. up 20 percent year-over-year, By Michael Gerrity, World Property Journal
“‘Borrowing and lending backed by commercial and multifamily properties has been strong the first half of this year,’ said Jamie Woodwell, MBA’s Vice President of Commercial Real Estate Research. ‘Reflecting broad industry trends, borrowing backed by industrial properties increased by two-thirds compared to the first half of 2016, while borrowing backed by retail properties dropped by one-sixth. As was the case during the first quarter, commercial/multifamily mortgage bankers’ originations increased despite a slowdown in the volume of sales transactions.’”
Hard Data That Opening A Physical Store Drives Online Traffic For Retailers, By Mike Phillips, Bisnow
“The research found that when a new store opens, traffic to the retailer’s website from the surrounding postal area increases by 52 percent on average within six weeks of opening. Digital traffic from the local area remains around this level, rather than dropping off.”
Though optimism has decreased, more than half see continued strength in U.S. real estate, By Brett Widness, Urban Land Magazine
“Respondents predict that maturing but stable conditions will continue for at least the next year for most real estate product types. Nonetheless, they remain vigilant about when markets tick over from late-stable to early-downturn conditions and how much upside remains. Sentiment suggests the apartment and retail sectors may be the first to peak.”
Multifamily developers try to solve the parking challenge, By Bendix Anderson, NREIOnline.com
“But if developers build too much parking, the empty spaces may be difficult to repurpose for any other use. In dense urban areas, parking often needs to be stacked in concrete parking or underground structures that may be expensive or impossible to demolish. Also, many downtown areas, including those in Atlanta and Dallas, are changing to become more walkable areas with more transit choices. ‘The downtowns have changed dramatically,’ says Bibby. ‘The more infrastructure is built up, the less they need that parking.'”
‘Amazon Effect’ has bankers re-examining their loan portfolios, tightening underwriting, By Mark Heschmeyer, CoStar
“Cushman & Wakefield estimates that at least 8,000 retail stores will close this year, which would move the total amount of shuttered space to more than 93 million square feet — levels not seen since 2008. Bankers cited the growing presence of e-commerce, along with weak growth prospects facing some retailers in an overbuilt retail market and the steady drumbeat of store closure announcements, as the major factors in their decision to address the matter with investors this quarter.”