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.
• Storage Units, Now With Space to Cook, Relax and Entertain by Candace Jackson of WSJ
Key excerpt:
“Far from the traditional industrial park-style facilities, these upscale alternatives can boast outdoor spaces, windows, decks overlooking ponds and trees, or lounges for socializing. Inside, climate-controlled rooms have the infrastructure to be customized with kitchens, bathrooms and other homelike amenities, so owners can relax and entertain guests while hanging with their stuff.”
• CRE Lending by Banks Surged in Fourth Quarter by Mark Heschmeyer of CoStar
Key excerpt:
“Total loans and leases at banks increased by $199 billion during the fourth quarter of 2015, approximately 2.3%. That is about double the pace of loan growth in the third quarter and the highest total increase in bank lending in eight years. The brisk pace of bank lending may cool this year after bank regulators issued an announcement during the fourth quarter that they planned to pay close attention to real estate lending activity among banks.”
• U.S. Commercial Property Prices Drop for First Time in Six Years by Kara Wetzel of Bloomberg
Key excerpt:
“The Moody/RCA Commercial Property Price Index slipped 0.3 percent from December, Moody’s Investors Service said in a statement Monday. The decline was led by office and industrial buildings, which each had a price drop of more than 1 percent.”
• 3 Reasons Developers Prefer Adaptive Reuse to New Construction by Nancy Crotti of CPE
Key excerpt:
“Some mature, densely developed markets offer precious little land for new construction. Others present an opportunity to reinvigorate an underachieving zone between the city and its business-magnet suburbs. Then there are the abandoned factories within a stone’s throw of major roads and rail lines, and the attractively located suburban office complexes sitting vacant.”
• Investors See Opportunity in Value-Add Strategies for Class-B Multifamily Assets by Bendix Anderson of National Real Estate Investor
Key excerpt:
“What is missing in this cycle is the construction of apartments that can cater to people earning the median income,” says David Schwartz, CEO and co-chairman of Waterton, a multifamily developer and manager based in Chicago. “We have an affordability crisis.”