10 Must Reads for the CRE Industry Today (Aug. 29, 2022) - Wealth Management

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WMRE Staff | Aug 29, 2022

Warehouse Bottlenecks Are Snarling U.S. Supply Chains “Logistics executives say sea containers and the steel trailers needed to ferry goods on trucks are being tied up for weeks at a time while companies store goods on the equipment because warehouses are brimming to capacity. The practice is triggering lengthy backups at inland distribution hubs including Chicago and Kansas City, Mo., that officials say are as bad now as at any time during the Covid-19 pandemic.” (The Wall Street Journal)
It’s Time for Office Buildings to Diversify “Office buildings aren’t going anywhere, but they are having an identity crisis in the eyes of investors and the companies that call them home. According to one study, 69 percent of companies have permanently closed an office since the start of the pandemic. In the last month, Facebook, Bose, and Tesla are just a few of the companies that have either paused construction on planned offices or decided to condense their office footprint.” (Propmodo)
What’s Constraining CRE Lenders? “Despite the strong performance, CRE owners are finding the debt market to be increasingly constrained and expensive. Factors within the broader capital markets—such as Fed policy, the corporate bond market and savings account balances—are affecting the loan terms that CRE capital providers can offer.” (Commercial Property Executive)
Billionaire Investor Says ‘Buy REITs’ “Blackstone’s COO John Gray explains that this clearly signals that REITs are now cheap and opportunistic: The best opportunities today are clearly in the public markets on the screen and that’s where we’re spending a lot of time. So the world’s biggest and most successful private equity investment firm is telling us that some of the best opportunities in today’s market are in publicly-listed REITs.” (Seeking Alpha)
Philly’s Port Has Its First China Shipping Route As It Makes Play For Larger Role In U.S. Supply Chain “Securing a first route with China is a result of state funding Wolf poured into improvements at PhilaPort: $330M in 2016 that, among other things, allowed the port to accept the largest class of ship that can fit through the Panama Canal, and another $246M committed in February.” (Bisnow)
American Real Estate Was a Money Launderer’s Dream. That’s Changing. “Cleveland has now become a poster child for the need for more transparency in the U.S. real estate industry. A raft of new anti-money laundering laws and regulations is aimed at the industry, which has attracted more than $2 billion in illicit funds over a recent five-year period, according to one report.” (The New York Times)
EB-5 groups settle lawsuits, allow program to permanently restart “EB-5 groups sued and a federal judge in California allowed existing regional centers to continue to operate while the litigation continued. The settlement between the USCIS and EB-5 groups now allows for regional centers to keep their authorization.” (The Real Deal)
Curbside pickup is here to stay, and retailers are going all-in “To win over shoppers, retailers are focusing on improving the experience. One important draw is offering several shopping options, according to Conor Flynn, the chief executive of Kimco Realty. The real estate investment firm was early to the omnichannel trend, working with its retail tenants to put in their branded neon green designated parking signs in its shopping centers.” (The Washington Post)
Rachel Hodgdon on WELL Buildings’ Growing Popularity “The pandemic fueled WELL adoption, with virtually every sector adhering to it. In the senior living space in particular, more than 600 communities around the world are enrolled to pursue or have achieved the WELL Health-Safety Rating or WELL Certification, the majority of which are in the U.S.” (Multi-Housing News)
Everyone’s a Landlord—Small-Time Investors Snap Up Out-of-State Properties “Mr. Cronin is part of a new movement of laptop landlords, in which individual investors are buying homes, often in other states, to rent out. Many are well-paid professionals who view owning a rental as a core investment, alongside stock or bond funds.” (The Wall Street Journal)