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.
• Why More Retailers Want In-Town Locations by Globe St.
Key excerpt:
“‘Atlanta has had to transition away from vehicle-dependent power centers, and embrace pedestrian-friendly mixed-use developments that offer a variety of experiences,’ [Ray] Uttenhove tells GlobeSt.com. ‘In 2016, retailers will look to further optimize their market footprint.’”
• Economic Issues, Consumerism, and E-commerce Dictate Retail Outlook for 2016 by Susan Persin of Urban Land Magazine.
Key excerpt:
“Tumbling stock markets in early 2016 are making people question the purported strength of commercial real estate markets. Retail availability stood at 8 percent in the third quarter of 2015, according to CBRE—100 basis points above the low reached in 2006. Rents are moving up, and new retail construction has been limited, which has helped the market maintain balance. Market fundamentals have been strong, but will negative headwinds affect consumer spending or change the outlook for the retail sector this year?”
• Construction of Hotel, Warehouse Properties Catching Up with Fast-Building Apartment Sector by Randyl Drummer of CoStar.
Key excerpt:
“The combined 2015 deliveries of hospitality, warehouse and office properties, however, can’t match the more than 371 million rentable square feet of new apartment properties delivered last year, making up nearly 1.7 percent of inventory. The delivery total is up from 2014’s already robust total of 342.8 million square feet, which constituted 1.55 percent of existing multifamily stock.”
• ‘Emerging Trends’ Study: New Market Opportunities Emerge for 2016 (Part 2) by Byron Carlock of National Real Estate Investor.
Key excerpt:
“Other markets show signs of significant growth as well. Survey respondents in particular like Dallas/Fort Worth, a sentiment driven by several major corporate relocations over the past year, signaling that this may be a good time to invest. Atlanta, Nashville and Portland, Ore. are also seeing company relocations to augment organic employment growth because of their affordability and ease of doing business.”
• Old Buildings Are U.S. Cities’ Biggest Sustainability Challenge by Iain Campbell and Koben Calhoun of Harvard Business Review.
Key excerpt:
“Addressing energy use in existing large commercial buildings has proven notoriously difficult. Today large commercial buildings address only two percent per year of the NPV-positive investments in efficiency that are available to them. When a market is operating so far below its financial potential, the reason is usually that supply models do not meet the buying criteria of the market — and existing building energy retrofits are no exception. A traditional energy overhaul of a building (retrofits that include replacing mechanical systems, windows, insulation, and other features during a remodel) requires significant investment, and is therefore typically timed with major renovations or capital-intensive building system replacement. While the customized approach can drive deep energy savings for an individual building and has its place in the market, it is not a model that can be deployed rapidly or at scale.”