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.
• What Oil Prices Mean for Apartment Rent Growth in the South and the West by Victor Calanog and Barbara Byrne Denham of NREI.
Key excerpt:
"Reis data shows that the drop in oil prices has had little to no impact on rent growth. Dallas and Denver saw year-over-year rent growth rates of 4.7 percent and 6.9 percent respectively, as of the third quarter. Houston’s year-over-year growth rate was 4.1 percent and its vacancy rate was unchanged in the quarter at 5.0 percent. Dallas and Denver’s vacancy rates were just under 5.0 percent.”
• U.S. Office Investors Shift Focus to Value-Add, Secondary Markets by Randyl Drummer of CoStar.
Key excerpt:
"Office property sales volume was up 30 percent to $115 billion in the first three quarters of 2015 compared with last year, Only the meteoric industrial real estate sector has seen stronger year-to-date sales growth at 32 percent, and office is the only major property type to log a significant increase in third-quarter sales volume, increasing 14 percent from a year ago, according to preliminary CoStar sales data."
• Private Investors Dominate So Far in 2015 by Les Shaver of Multifamily Executive.
Key excerpt:
“‘Investment activity has been dominated by REITs and pension funds in the past, but private buyers—both individuals and smaller operators who have raised investment funds—are flocking to the multifamily space and often divesting of alternative real estate investments in office, retail, and hotels,’ says Christine Espenshade, managing director of Capital Markets for JLL."
• Why Experiential Retail is Rapidly Rising by Jennifer LeClaire of Globe St.
Key excerpt:
“‘Restaurants and retailers are learning to become omnichannel, focusing on how to better align themselves with their customer base and how to win and keep loyal customers,’ says Brian Bern, a senior director of real estate services at Franklin Street. He previously filled us in on the cause and effect of shrinking retail inventory.”
• Green buildings: great for the environment and for landlords by Consumer Affairs.
Key excerpt:
“Researchers found that occupancy rates in green buildings were higher in Canada and the United States by 18.7 percent and 9.5 percent, respectively. To some this may be surprising, considering that the average rent prices were 3.7 percent higher in both countries.”