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.
• Senior Real Estate Executives Still Bullish on U.S. by J. Scott Trubey of AJC
Key excerpt:
“Top executives polled for the 2016 Real Confidence survey showed a higher confidence rate for the domestic economy over global concerns (63.3 percent vs. 45.4 percent) and showed a “healthy” 68.5 percent rate of confidence in the health of the U.S. real estate market.”
• New Rule May Miss Target on Real Estate Purchases by Josh Barbanel of WSJ
Key excerpt:
“Brokers and real-estate lawyers said wealthy individuals, from movie stars protecting their privacy to foreign businessmen worried about kidnapping threats, routinely use LLCs to shield their purchases from public disclosure.”
• As Sales Ebb, Department Stores Dialing Back Downtown Locations by Mark Heschmeyer of CoStar
Key excerpt:
“That trend shows that department stores have a tough fight ahead of them to grow sales. The prime example of which is Macy’s, which last year stepped up its real estate strategy of shrinking or exiting downtown markets.”
• A $20 Billion Megaproject’s Key Ingredient: The Luxury Food Court by Patrick Clark of Bloomberg
Key excerpt:
“On the landlord side of the equation, building operators have grappled with lower consumer demand, the rise of e-commerce, and an oversupply of shopping centers. In cities, developers began paying attention to the role restaurants have in “placemaking,” real estate-speak for attracting people to up-and-coming neighborhoods.”
• International Investment Surges 180% in 2015 by Lee Shaver of Multifamily Executive
Key excerpt:
“Safety is the top selling point for American multifamily. “We all think the U.S. feels a bit edgy in terms of economic performance,” says Alex Foshay, senior managing director of capital markets for NGKF Capital Markets. “To the rest of the world, it’s seen as the best economy globally.”