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.
• Spike in Cyber Monday Sales Boosts U.S. Industrial Market Demand by Michael Gerrity of World Property Journal.
Key excerpt:
“Spencer Levy, CBRE's Americas Head of Research says, ‘Cyber Monday is no longer a one-day event. Consumers are now spreading their holiday shopping over a 'cyber-week', taking advantage of online sales that began before Black Friday. Continued strength in online shopping is a trend that bodes well for the U.S. industrial real estate market, as e-commerce companies and omni-channel retailers will need more space to warehouse and process online shipments.’”
• More Construction, Financial Data Offered for the MOB Sector by Robert Carr for National Real Estate Investor.
Key excerpt:
“It’s well known that demand for MOBs is high. According to Revista, prices for MOBs have risen to $268 per sq. ft. this year, about $20 per sq. ft. higher than last year, and yields have compressed to about 7.1 percent for all health care properties. There’s about 5.5 million sq. ft. of MOB completions expected in 2014, and about seven million sq. ft. of completions expected in 2015, according to the company’s data.”
• REITs’ Modest Gains in November in Line With Broader Market by Sarah Borchersen-Keto of REIT.com.
Key excerpt:
“Ryan Meliker, senior analyst at MLV & Co., said October’s solid showing (REITs were up 8.7 percent in the month) should be taken into consideration with regard to November’s gains.
‘It’s hard to see two consecutive months with that kind of outperformance. Given the strength in October, I don’t think there are too many REIT investors that will be disappointed by the modest underperformance in November,’ Meliker said.”
• Economy Watch: Construction Spending, Home-Price Increases by Dees Stribling of Commercial Property Executive.
Key excerpt:
“Some property types saw upticks for the month. Construction spending on office projects, for instance, was up 2 percent in October compared with September; lodging projects saw a 3.3 percent increase for the month; and manufacturing facilities saw a 3.4 percent increase. Other categories were down for the month, such as construction on religious properties, off 3.7 percent, and power facilities, off 1 percent.”
• ‘Black Friday’ Fades as Weekend Retail Sales Sink by Shelly Banjo of the Wall Street Journal.
Key excerpt:
“The weak results contrast with improvements elsewhere in the economy, such as decreasing joblessness, a rebounding housing market and two quarters of strong economic growth, and they suggest that even with an economy on the mend many consumers remain thrifty five years after the recession. Consumers have become much more dutiful about researching their purchases on the Web to find the best price and have also become more disciplined, limiting their impulse buys.”