Sales volume on net lease assets roughly flat with last year’s, By Diana Bell, NREIOnline.com
“The first quarter of 2017 ended with about $11.43 billion in sales involving office, industrial and retail single-tenant net lease assets, according to research from Stan Johnson, a national net lease brokerage firm. That figure paced very closely to the first quarter of 2016, when $11.89 billion in net lease sales closed.”
Foreign investors still keen on U.S. real estate, By Allen Kenney, REIT.com
“Schwartz offered his thoughts on the impact of changes to the rules from the Foreign Investment in Real Property Tax Act (FIRPTA). He noted that the reforms have played a role in stimulating demand in U.S. real estate from abroad, albeit not an overwhelming one. In terms of other factors driving that demand, Schwartz cited the limited number of opportunities available in the Asian real estate markets. He pointed out that secondary markets outside the gateway cities in the U.S. are relatively strong.”
Future-proofing cities over the next decade for driverless cars, By Leslie Braunstein, Urban Land Institute
“Taxi use is down 15 percent in Las Vegas since Uber was introduced, said Guckert, and many Washington, D.C.–area Metrorail riders who have left the system in response to ongoing disruptions for maintenance may decide to continue ride sharing with services like Uber Pool rather than return to public transit. Gas stations are closing in urban areas, and developers are planning underground garages with taller ceiling heights to accommodate potential future conversion to alternative uses The public sector, however, may not yet be ready for what is in store.”
New venture aims for value-add medical offices, if it can find them, By Jarred Schenke, Bisnow
“Highgate Partners partner Beau Terrell and Andrew Murphy, senior vice president of healthcare investments with Ackerman & Co., have teamed up and already purchased some 120,000 square feet of medical office buildings throughout Metro Atlanta, including 3790 Pleasant Hill Road, a 34,000-square-foot MOB in Duluth directly across from Gwinnett Medical Center.”
Transwestern buying State Farm regional headquarters, By Jarred Schenke, Bisnow
“Transwestern investment fund Transwestern Corporate Properties I Investor has agreed to buy Park Center I, the newest addition to Central Perimeter’s Class-A office empire that is home to State Farm Auto Insurance Co. It is the first phase, at 602,000 square feet, that is part of a larger Park Center campus for State Farm that will ultimately include three buildings totaling more than 1.7 million square feet.”
Retail is dying? Not in Atlanta, By Amy Wenk and Douglas Sams, Atlanta Business Chronicle
“As developers this week head back from pitching their projects in Las Vegas, where RECon, the world’s largest retail convention, just wrapped up, they return to an Atlanta market boasting its healthiest numbers in years. Metro Atlanta’s retail space vacancy stands at 8.5 percent, the lowest point in a decade, according to real estate services company Colliers International.”