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☆ What office meltdown? Developers see a shortage of high-end space and are rushing to build it.
▼ + stars: | 2024-10-03 | by ( Daniel Geiger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +12 min

Much of the office market may be mired in a downturn, but demand has been strong for high-end space. New office construction has dropped off sharply, leading to a potential upcoming shortage. That demand has persisted even as office construction has been stifled by higher interest rates and inflation, which have pushed up costs. Worries over the health of the office market have also made lenders reluctant to finance new development. 8 million square feet of that is pre-leased, meaning that there is only about 10 million square feet of upcoming available top quality space.

Persons: —, Hilary Goldfarb, Goldfarb, Crowell, there's, Scott Rechler, Rechler, Vanderbilt, Philippe Visser, CBRE, Visser, Larry Silverstein, Norman Foster, Silverstein, Randolph St, Ross, Stephen Ross, Jordan Rathlev, Rathlev, Jessica Morin, Morin, Banks, RXR, I'm, you'd Organizations: Service, Rockefeller Development, Fifth St, RXR, Skidmore, Owings, Merrill, TF Cornerstone, Grand Central, Citadel, Yards, Companies, Oxford Properties, Hudson, Hudson Yards, KKR, Meta, World Trade Center, American Express, Trade, Related's, Central Locations: Washington ,, Washington, DC, New York, San Francisco, midtown Manhattan, Manhattan, Wells Fargo, BlackRock, Lower Manhattan, Chicago, Fulton, West Palm Beach , Florida, CBRE

☆ Commercial property has been in a slump. How lower interest rates could lift it out.
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-17 | by ( Daniel Geiger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Read previewUma Moriarity, a senior investment strategist at a real estate investment firm based outside of Philadelphia, is feeling better about deal-making in commercial real estate. A reduction in the Fed's benchmark rate would bring relief to the $22.5 trillion US commercial real estate market, which was shaken by a series of interest rate increases beginning in March 2022. AdvertisementThe increases diminished commercial property values, raised mortgage defaults, and triggered the sector's worst downturn since the financial crisis more than 15 years ago. "We're looking at a very good 2025 and beyond," Mark Rose, the CEO of the real estate services firm Avison Young, said. "Commercial property prices have increased over the past few months as bond yields have declined," Peter Rothemund, the co-head of strategic research at Green Street, said in the firm's recent property pricing report.

Persons: —, Uma Moriarity, Moriarty, Mark Rose, Avison Young, Richard Barkham, We've, Fitch, CMBS, Peter Rothemund, Alan Todd, Todd, CLO Organizations: Service, Federal Reserve, Business, CenterSquare Investment Management, Green, Mortgage, Association, Bank of America, Bank of America Securities Locations: Philadelphia, Trepp

☆ Developer Michael Shvo plans bulk sale of Mandarin Oriental condos after default
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-09 | by ( Daniel Geiger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Read previewMichael Shvo, who shot to prominence in recent years buying billions of dollars of trophy real estate assets, has defaulted on the debt connected to a luxury condo building in Los Angeles. The site was purchased in 2019 by a group of investors that included Shvo, Bilgili Group, and Deutsche Finance. It has hired the real estate services firm Newmark to market the offering to investors and arrange a transaction. AdvertisementShvo purchased $3 billion of prominent real estate assets, including the Transamerica Pyramid building in San Francisco and 711 Fifth Ave. in Manhattan. In previous statements, a spokeswoman explained that BVK's investments with Shvo were handled through intermediaries, including Deutsche Finance and another German financial firm, Universal Investment.

Persons: —, Michael Shvo, –, Serdar, Newmark, Shvo, BVK Organizations: Service, Los, Los Angeles Recorder's Office, Acore, Beverly, Business, Bilgili, Deutsche Finance, Bayerische, Bilgili Group, Shvo, BVK, Biligili, Core, Universal Investment Locations: Los Angeles, Beverly Hills, Munich, San Francisco, Manhattan, Beverly, New York

☆ Small apartments are in, and it's causing rents in new buildings to drop
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-05 | by ( Eliza Relman | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Developers have built a lot of new small apartments over the last few years, and the boost in supply has driven rents down. Rents for newly finished one-bedroom apartments are also falling — the median rent fell 11.9% year over year in the first quarter of 2024, the report found. More than 90,000 new apartments came online in the fourth quarter of 2023, finishing a big year of apartment construction, Redfin noted. The Redfin report is based on US Census data on "unfurnished, unsubsidized, privately financed rental apartments in buildings with five or more units." Studios and one-bedrooms tend to be more profitable for developers to build than larger apartments, and developers aren't building enough apartments suitable for big families.

Persons: Redfin, you've, Sheharyar Bokhari, — Organizations: Service, Business, Harvard Locations: Redfin

☆ Failure to meet surging data center energy demand will jeopardize economic growth, utility execs warn
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-30 | by ( Spencer Kimball | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

The expected demand from data centers and electric vehicles in the U.S. is equivalent to the entire electricity demand of Turkey, the world's 18th largest economy, according to Rystad. NextEra Energy , parent of Skantze's subsidiary, is the largest power company in the S&P utilities sector by market capitalization and it operates the biggest portfolio of renewable energy assets in the nation. They need this load to drive the next iteration of growth," Skantze told the Reuters Global Energy Transition conference in New York City this week. 'Energy security brings national security'Southern Company , the second-largest utility in the U.S. by market cap, is also seeing a historic wave of electricity demand. "You're also seeing in the Southeast, this incredible population growth and you're seeing all this onshoring with manufacturing."

Persons: Patrick T, Fallon, Surya Hendry, Petter Skantze, Skantze, John Ketchum, Ketchum, Chris Womack, Womack Organizations: Afp, Getty, Rystad Energy, Google, Microsoft, Meta, NextEra Energy Resources, NextEra Energy, Reuters, Energy, NextEra, Southern Company Locations: Los Angeles, U.S, Turkey, New York City, Atlanta, CBRE

☆ Selling a home is expensive, too: Homeowners typically spend nearly $55,000, report finds
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-27 | by ( Ana Teresa Solá | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

It typically costs $54,616 to sell a house in 2024, according to a June 17 report from Clever Real Estate. In May, Clever Real Estate polled 1,014 Americans who sold a home between 2022 and 2024 about their attitudes related to the home-selling process. "Ultimately, [with] many of these fees, there's no harm in trying to negotiate, and that includes real estate commissions," Hamrick said. But the highest expenses an owner will face when selling a home are the real estate agent commission fees, Ahmed said. Sell without a real estate agent: Homeowners could try to sell the house themselves and potentially drop real estate services altogether, said Dunaway-Seale.

Persons: Jaime Dunaway, Seale, they're, that's, Dunaway, Mark Hamrick, Hamrick, Kashif, Ahmed, Daryl Fairweather, Orphe, Sellers, brokerages, Claudia Cobreiro, Cobreiro Organizations: Finance, Wealth, Redfin, CNBC, U.S, The National Association of Realtors, Cobreiro, MLS, Realtors, Homeowners Locations: Bedford , Massachusetts, Coral Gables , Florida, Miami

In 2023, Texas led the nation in solar installations on its power grid, surpassing California for its second consecutive year. Explosive power demand poses a challenge to the Biden administration's goal of converting the U.S. power grid to 100% clean electricity by 2035. Nextracker is a leading U.S. solar firm, building systems that allow panels to track to the position of the sun, improving the efficiency of solar power plants. Shugar pointed to the massive number of renewable projects in the U.S. seeking connection to the power grid. But as energy demand increases, the value of each additional hour should rise, eventually making longer duration batteries more cost effective, he said.

Persons: Brandon Bell, Andrés Gluski, Joseph Rand, We've, Kelley, Wells, Goldman Sachs, Biden, Ryan Sweezey, Wood Mackenzie, Richard Kinder, Kinder Morgan, Kinder, Amin Nasser, Nasser, Shugar, Lawrence, Lazard, Nextracker's Shugar, Lawrence Berkeley, Amol Phadke, Rand, Sweezey, Reid Ramdathsingh, Ramdathsingh, Fluence, John Zahurancik, Zahurancik, it's, Zahuranick Organizations: Getty, Renewables, Energy Information Administration, Department of Energy, Big Tech, Microsoft, AES Corporation, Google, AES, Meta, UBS, Solar, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, U.S, Tech, North America, DOE, CNBC, University of California Berkeley's Goldman School of Public, Goldman School, Lawrence, Rystad Energy, Siemens Locations: Ector County , Texas, Texas, California, United States, U.S, Wells Fargo, Saudi, Houston, Lawrence Berkeley, Fluence's Americas

☆ OpenAI Strikes a Deal to License News Corp Content
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-22 | by ( Katie Robertson | More About Katie Robertson | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

News Corp, the Murdoch-owned empire of publications like The Wall Street Journal and The New York Post, announced on Wednesday that it had agreed to a deal with OpenAI to share its content to train and service artificial intelligence chatbots. News Corp said the multiyear agreement would allow OpenAI to use current and archived news content from News Corp’s major news outlets, including brands in the United States, United Kingdom and Australia as well as MarketWatch and Barron’s. The agreement does not include content from News Corp’s other businesses, such as its digital real estate services or HarperCollins. The Wall Street Journal reported the agreement could be worth as much as $250 million over five years, citing unnamed sources. A News Corp spokesman declined to comment on the reporting.

Persons: Murdoch, OpenAI, “, ” Robert Thomson, Sam Altman, ”, ” Mr, Altman Organizations: Corp, Street, The New, The New York Post, . News Corp, HarperCollins, News Corp, Street Journal Locations: The New York, United States, United Kingdom, Australia

☆ Vietnam wants to take China's place as a new factory of the world — but a $12 billion financial fraud case is getting in the way
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-12 | by ( Huileng Tan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Vietnamese real-estate tycoon Truong My Lan was sentenced to death for her role in a $12.5 billion fraud case. Lan's fraud case is part of Communist Party Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong's corruption crackdown. Lan, the chairwoman of real-estate developer Van Thinh Phat Group, was arrested in 2022 over the fraud case. AdvertisementThe high-profile fraud case has scandalized the country and is raising questions about the one-party state. For context on the scale of the Vietnam fraud case, consider the 1MDB case, which rocked Malaysia and the world when it started to unravel in 2015.

Persons: Truong, Lan, Communist Party Secretary Nguyen Phu, —, Van Thinh, Zachary Abuza, Trang Bui, Bui Organizations: Communist Party Secretary, Service, Prosecutors, Vietnamese Communist Party, National War College, Washington DC, Bloomberg, Cushman, Nikkei Locations: Vietnam, China, Malaysia, Malaysian, Hanoi, Washington, Wakefield

☆ A boomer who moved from California to Florida started a Facebook group to help friends make similar moves. 300,000 members later, guiding Californians to new states is his full-time job.
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-31 | by ( Noah Sheidlower | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +11 min

A few years ago, Terry Gilliam, 64, packed his bags, sold his East Bay, California home, and moved to Florida. After founding two Facebook groups for California movers, he realized thousands more were in the same boat. His groups, Leaving California and Life After California, have nearly 300,000 members between them. Gilliam moved to Winter Park, a city of 29,000 outside Orlando, to help care for his parents. Van Edom, the Knoxville realtor, said Knoxville is a newly popular destination for California movers.

Persons: Terry Gilliam, Gilliam, It's, they're, I've, Terry Gilliam Terry Gilliam, Haley Van Edom, California Gilliam, I'm, he's, He's, Craig Blessing, Van Edom, Shay Felknor, Berkshire Hathaway, Dan Joyner, there's, Felknor, Ethan Lanagan, Lanagan Organizations: Service, Business, Golden State, realtors, Golden, Edom Home Group, Disney, California Facebook, Universal, Estate Services, Berkshire Hathaway C, Dan Joyner Realtors, Sacramento — Locations: Bay , California, Florida, California, . Texas , Arizona, Golden State, Knoxville , Tennessee, Connecticut, Texas, Tennessee, Arkansas, Orlando, shutdowns, Texas , Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, Southern California, Central Florida, Van, Knoxville, Berkshire, Greenville , South Carolina, San Diego, Sacramento, Atlanta, North Carolina , Tennessee, Nashville , Tennessee, Franklin , Tennessee, Orange County, Franklin

☆ Why a warehouse giant is planning a $25 billion push into data centers
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-06 | by ( Daniel Geiger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

He will fill the newly created role of global head of data centers at the firm. Prologis's push exemplifies the growing interest among investors in data center deals, including players who have not traditionally been involved in the highly specialized industry. Warehouses have squat footprints similar to data centers and are often located in industrial areas that have proximity to the heavy electrical lines and equipment necessary to deliver voluminous power that data centers require. Warehouse growth slows as data centers accelerateDemand for data centers has steadily grown over the past decade, driven by the widespread use of cloud computing and storage across corporate America. Blackstone, for instance, has said it plans to develop as much as $50 billion of data centers in the coming years.

Persons: Chris Curtis, Curtis, Michael Hochanadel, Hochanadel, Harrison, They're, Joseph Ghazal, Ghazal, Hamid Moghadam, JLL, Morgan Stanley, Blackstone, Vince Tibone, Tibone, Prologis's, Ron Kamdem, Moghadam, Carl Beardsley, Beardsley, Chris Crosby, Prince William County, Prologis Organizations: Business, Harrison, Green, Amazon, Google, Microsoft, Brookfield, Blackstone, Compass Locations: San Francisco, Dallas, America, Brookfield, Canadian, Prince William, Virginia

☆ Commercial real estate services firm restructures debt after default as industry's problems widen
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-26 | by ( Daniel Geiger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

The announcement came after S&P Global Ratings lowered Avison's credit on Friday and reported that the company had defaulted on the loan. Weeks earlier, S&P had downgraded the credit rating of Cushman & Wakefield, another major services firm. Higher interest rates have dislocated property values and stifled sales transactions, cutting off a major revenue stream for these firms. Leasing activity across major property types, meanwhile, including office, remains diminished. A push into US real estateAvison sought to rapidly grow in the US over the past decade, including in major commercial real estate markets such as New York City.

Persons: Avison Young, Weeks, Cushman, –, Mark Rose, Avison, Rose, CDPQ, Arbour, MSCI, doesn't, that's Organizations: Cushman & Wakefield, Business, Leasing, Caisse, Federal Reserve Locations: Toronto, Avison, Lane, Stamford , Connecticut, New York City

☆ A big win for Wells Fargo — plus what's dragging down Google parent Alphabet
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-15 | by ( Jeff Marks | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

One more down: Shares of Wells Fargo hit a new 52-week high after the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency terminated a 2016 consent order linked to its sales practices. This is the sixth consent order that regulators have terminated since 2019. Every consent order that is resolved brings the bank closer to having the Federal Reserve lift the asset cap that's been holding it back since February 2018. As a subscriber to the CNBC Investing Club with Jim Cramer, you will receive a trade alert before Jim makes a trade. THE ABOVE INVESTING CLUB INFORMATION IS SUBJECT TO OUR TERMS AND CONDITIONS AND PRIVACY POLICY , TOGETHER WITH OUR DISCLAIMER .

Persons: Jim Cramer, Linde, Wells Fargo, Charlie Scharf, there's, GOOGL, It's, Jim Cramer's, Jim, Krisztian Bocsi Organizations: CNBC, Air Products, Chemicals, Bank of America, Energy, Cisco Systems, Wells, Currency, Federal Reserve, Microsoft, Google, Materials, University of Michigan, PPI, Jim Cramer's Charitable, Shell Plc, BASF, Linde AG, Bloomberg, Getty Locations: We're, Bank, Wells, Coinbase, Leuna, Germany

☆ Industrious merges subsidiary to create a new force in coworking
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-12 | by ( Daniel Geiger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

A spokesman for Industrious said it would own a 40% stake in the merged subsidiary. The vacancy rate for office space nationally hit 18.6% at the end of 2023, according to data from CBRE– the highest level since 1992. About 771 million square feet, about twice the size of Manhattan's entire office market, sits empty nationally. How Industrious won the coworking warHodari has been an astute and resilient player in the coworking business. At the time, most coworking companies sought to rent space from landlords then sublease that to their clientele at a hefty markup.

Persons: WeWork, Jamie Hodari, Hodari, Deskpass, Sam Rosen, Deskpass Stephanie Bassos, CBRE, Breather, Rosen, Adam Neumann, Shlomo Silber, Silber, lockdowns, You've Organizations: Business, Deskpass, Bond Locations: New York, Chicago, Breather

☆ Queen of the skyscrapers Darcy Stacom to leave property giant CBRE
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-06 | by ( Daniel Geiger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

"After more than 20 years at CBRE Darcy Stacom has decided to leave the company at the end of March to launch her own commercial real estate firm, and we wish her well with her new endeavor," the email read. The end of Stacom's tenure reflects sweeping challenges and generational shifts in commercial real estate. And in 2018, Stacom represented Google in its $2.4 billion acquisition of a new office property overlooking the Hudson River. "She's had an unbelievable career," said Jon Mechanic, chairman of the law firm Fried Frank's real estate practice, who has worked with Stacom on countless deals. The person did not want to be identified because they had not been authorized by CBRE to speak about Stacom's exit.

Persons: Darcy Stacom, Matthew Van Buren, Chris Ludeman, CBRE Darcy Stacom, Stacom, Paul Massey, Stacom's, Peter Cooper, Zhang Xin, She's, Jon Mechanic, Fried, Adam Spies, Doug Harmon, Newmark, CBRE, Doug Middleton Organizations: Skyscrapers, New, State, Business, CBRE, Real, Advisors, Stuyvesant Town, General, Google, New York Locations: New York, CBRE's Tri, New York City, CBRE, Stuyvesant, Hudson

☆ Squeezed by Soaring Rent, Small Shops Get Creative
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-01 | by ( Nina Roberts | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Last March, Emily Schildt opened Pop Up Grocer on a Bleecker Street corner in the West Village, selling artfully packaged condiments, beverages and other products made by small, emerging brands in a pay-to-play business model. Customers can buy artisanal hot sauces or zucchini chips from brands like Peepal People and Van Van that pay a fee to be on the shelves. Typically 150 to 200 brands are on display at a time, and some are replaced on a quarterly basis. One 27-square-foot space in the West Village, an affluent neighborhood in Manhattan, was recently listed for $5,000 a month. But some ambitious entrepreneurs are experimenting with business models, like charging shelf fees or selling wholesale to make ends meet.

Persons: Emily Schildt, Van Van, Ms, Schildt, “ That’s Organizations: Peepal Locations: Bleecker, West, New York, Manhattan

☆ Lenders are bailing out of commercial real estate as a wave of debt builds
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-30 | by ( Daniel Geiger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

Roughly $2.1 trillion of debt connected to commercial real estate assets, including office properties, apartment buildings, hotels, and retail spaces, will come due between now and the end of 2025 in the US, according to the real estate services firm JLL. The wave of maturities and the enormous equity shortfalls have raised concerns that a growing number of commercial real estate debts will fall into distress, forcing banks and other lenders to suffer losses. His group tracked about $15 billion of commercial property debt sales during the year, roughly three times the volume from 2022. Commercial real estate loans differ from residential mortgages taken by homeowners in that most are interest-only or pay down their principal balance minimally and span a decade or less. More banks are exploring loan salesBanks and other lenders generally aren't eager to seize the real estate assets that collateralize their debt.

Persons: Jerry, Stephen Scouten, Piper Sandler, it's, Kevin Aussef, Aussef, David Tobin, Marcus, Millichap, Synovus, Tobin, David Frosh, they're, Frosh, Fitch, David Blumberg, we'd, Blumberg, Daniel Geiger, Rob Verrone, Banks, You've, Bliss Morris, Morris Organizations: Amerant Bank, Business, Banking, CIBC, Mission, PacWest, HSBC, Fidelity, Funding Inc, Blackstone, Bloomberg, Broadway, Aon Center, 601W Companies, Iron Hound Management, First Financial Locations: Coral Gables , Florida, Houston, Canadian, Brookfield, Los Angeles, Columbus, Manhattan, Midland, Chicago, Oklahoma City, New York

☆ Amid a Housing Crunch, Religious Groups Unlock Land to Build Homes
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-24 | by ( Stacey Freed | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

So when the opportunity came to move into a two-bedroom apartment in December 2019, she jumped at the chance. Now Ms. Budway lives at Gilliam Place, an affordable housing complex built on property that Arlington Presbyterian Church owns. “My world has gotten so much larger,” she said. Ms. Budway is the beneficiary of a growing real estate trend: Across the nation, faith-based organizations are redeveloping unused or derelict facilities to help rectify a housing affordability crisis while also fulfilling their mission to do good in the world. With the exception of a few well-heeled churches or synagogues, most religious organizations tend to be land rich and cash poor, said Geoffrey Newman, an executive managing director at Savills, a real estate services company.

Persons: Emma Budway, Budway, Geoffrey Newman Organizations: Arlington Presbyterian Church Locations: Arlington , Va, Gilliam, Arlington

☆ Mexico's one big advantage over the US right now could stall the 'Made in America' push
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-20 | by ( Jacob Zinkula | Matt Turner | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Read previewThe push by US businesses to make more stuff in America has an ongoing challenge: It's hard to find workers. Ulbrich says this stands in sharp contrast to Mexico, whose growing manufacturing base could entice companies to make supply chain investments there, rather than in the US. Even as the pandemic-era labor shortage has eased, the demand for construction and factory workers has continued to exceed supply. Mexico's median age is roughly 30, he added — compared to nearly 40 in China — which has contributed to a strong labor supply. Compared to Mexico, manufacturing in the US would likely offer businesses reduced supply chain disruptions and lower transportation costs.

Persons: —, Christian Ulbrich, Ulbrich, Matt Turner, Biden, Houthi, Tesla, Susan Golicic, Andres Abadia, Abadia, Luis Torres, Colorado State's Golicic, Golicic Organizations: Service, Business, Economic, General Motors, Intel, Companies, Ford, Reuters, Colorado State University, US, Pantheon Macroeconomics, Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas Locations: America, Mexico, Ukraine, Taiwan, Canada, China, Asia, shoring, San Antonio, Tennessee, Alabama, Colorado

☆ Can we turn all those empty office buildings into housing?
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-13 | by ( Anna Bahney | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

Experts in housing, building, and urban planning say it may be difficult to convert office space to livable, likeable residential housing, but there’s an urgent reason they’re trying. More office space is sitting empty in the United States than at any point since 1979, Moody’s Analytics reported earlier this week. By some estimates, only 3% of New York City office buildings and 2% in downtown Denver are suited for residential conversions. Office space and homes are two fundamentally different types of buildings, according to builders and architects. Do you have another building where you can move them?”As result, according to Theodos, office conversions are not a solution to either the empty office glut or the housing supply shortage.

Persons: Biden, ”, Harold Bordwin, Keen, Brett Theodos, ” Bordwin, “, ” Maren Reepmeyer, ” Theodos, –, Nathaniel Meyersohn, Donald Judd Organizations: DC CNN, Moody’s, National Association of Realtors, Summit Capital Partners, Metropolitan Housing, Policy Center, Urban Institute, “, CBRE, Wacker, Chicago Business Locations: Washington, New York, Boston, Cleveland, United States, Manhattan, “, New York City, Denver, Chicago, Theodos

REUTERS/Aly Song/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsLONDON, Nov 28 (Reuters) - M&G Real Estate (MNG.L) forecasts it is "a matter of time" before global property markets face greater volumes of forced selling, with banks increasingly reluctant to refinance troubled or lower quality assets at current interest rates. "We are in a new period of real estate investment that will require a new mindset," he told Reuters before the publication of the firm's Global Real Estate Outlook on Tuesday. Nearly 40% of outstanding British commercial real estate loans are due to mature in 2024 and 2025, where average real estate values have fallen by over 20% since mid-2022, the report said, citing data from Bayes Business School. "Real estate debt is becoming an increasingly attractive investment proposition," Pellicer said. U.S. office-based working is at only 50% of pre-pandemic levels, the report cited real estate services firm JLL (JLL.N) as estimating, while numbers in Europe have recovered to 75%.

Persons: Aly, Jose Pellicer, Pellicer, G, Carolyn Cohn, Sinead Cruise, Alexander Smith Organizations: REUTERS, G, Reuters, Bayes Business, Thomson Locations: Shanghai, China, Germany, Sweden, Europe, United States, Asia

☆ Workers in Seoul have ditched remote working. Now the capital has the strongest office market in the world.
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-19 | by ( Polly Thompson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

But the booming South Korean office market may bolster arguments that it is better for employees to head back to the office — at least for those watching the US's struggling commercial-real-estate sector. The increase in competition for office space has led to a roughly 15% rise in rental prices over the last year, Bloomberg reported. KEF found that now, fewer than 60% of big companies allow their employees to work remotely. Of the 40% of companies KEF surveyed that still allow remote work, almost two-thirds of those companies said they only allow it selectively. There has been a general shortage of office space since 2021 due to government restrictions on redevelopment and the pandemic's disruption of construction.

Persons: —, Claire Choi, Choi, KEF, it's, Goldman Sachs, Forbes, Biden Organizations: Service, Bloomberg, Global, Estate Services, Korea Enterprises Federation, Pulse Locations: Seoul, Korea

☆ Analysis: WeWork's troubles darken outlook for embattled office market
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-03 | by ( Sinead Cruise | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

Backed by Japan's SoftBank, WeWork aimed to revolutionise the office market by taking long leases on large properties and renting the space to multiple smaller businesses on more flexible, shorter arrangements. Some leveraged property investors could struggle to earn enough rental income to service rising debt costs, they said. The number and volume of real estate loans due for refinancing in 2024 is unclear because many deals are struck privately between borrower and lender, Ed Daubeney, co-head, debt and structured finance, EMEA, at real estate services firm Jones Lang LaSalle, told Reuters. U.S. industrial and office real estate investment trusts (REITs) were seen 35.8% more likely to default, versus expectations a year ago. "We're at a massive turning point in the real estate investment market globally," Jose Pellicer, head of real estate strategy at M&G Real Estate, said.

Persons: Kate Munsch, Japan's SoftBank, WeWork, Jeffrey Havsy, Ed Daubeney, Jones Lang LaSalle, Savills, refinancings, What's, MSCI, Jefferies, Jose Pellicer, Sinead Cruise, Elisa Martinuzzi, Mark Potter Organizations: REUTERS, Media, Real Estate, Reuters, Analysts, Europe, Flex, BNP, G, Thomson Locations: San Francisco , California, U.S, York, New York, London, United States, Europe, Britain, Germany, California

☆ WeWork's troubles darken outlook for embattled office market
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-03 | by ( Sinead Cruise | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

The Chicago-based NAR said Thursday that Bob Goldberg would be stepping down after a 30-year career at the trade association. Nykia Wright, former CEO of the Chicago Sun-Times, was tapped to take over on an interim basis, beginning Nov. 20. Real estate agents must be dues-paying members of the NAR in order to advertise themselves as Realtors. Its size and influence in the U.S. real estate industry has not only made the trade association a target in litigation, but also brought it under the scrutiny of the Justice Department. The department filed a complaint in 2020 against the NAR, alleging it established and enforced rules and policies that illegally restrained competition in residential real estate services.

Persons: Bob Goldberg, Nykia Wright, Goldberg, “, Wright, Kenny Parcell, Tracy Kasper Organizations: ANGELES, National Association of Realtors, Chicago Sun, NAR, The New York Times, Realtors, Justice Department, of, U.S ., Times Locations: Chicago, Kansas City , Missouri, Missouri, The, Utah, U.S, Western, of Missouri

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