NEWS HIGHLIGHTS
Selection of Recent News Highlights
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Gothamist
Beth Fertig
Vacant Storefronts Proliferate, And It’s No Easier To Identify Owners
Taking a walk along Third Avenue in the 80s and 90s near his home, City Councilman Ben Kallos points to one empty storefront after another and recalls some of his favorite Upper East Side shops and restaurants.
Commercial Property Executive
Paul Rosta
REIT Leaders Speak Out at NYU Conference
During Schack's 25th REIT Symposium, Debra Cafaro, Hamid Moghadam, Barry Sternlicht and Sam Zell offered thought-provoking insights on today’s most pressing topics: prospects for the economy, the impact of the pandemic, and what’s ahead for major asset categories.
The Real Deal
Kathryn Brenzel, Akiko Matsuda, and Erin Hudson
Real Estate Sounds Off On State’s $4.3 Billion Tax Hike
Some real estate professionals and economists fear that $4.3 billion in tax increases, on top of the shift to remote work, might just push some over the edge.
Real Estate Weekly
Arthur Schurr
Getting Woke in the City That Never Sleeps
A company that does not implement a diversity program with real initiatives and real results will soon find itself unable to compete. The real estate and construction industries are notoriously resistant to change, but that is finally shifting on many fronts.
The Real Deal
Rich Bockmann
New York City Real Estate Industry Escaped Huge Job Losses
New York City real estate avoided some of the deepest cuts seen during a year of record job losses across most industries. Despite challenges like a temporary ban on in-person property showings and the spring shutdown’s outsized damage to retail and hospitality, the city’s real estate job cuts were mild compared to its broader workforce.
Commercial Observer
Andrew Coen
Real Estate Playing Catchup on Diversity
Commercial real estate firms are taking key steps to tackle diversity initiatives, but many more forward strides are needed in order to bring the industry up to the standards of other professional business fields.
The Real Deal
Kathryn Brenzel
Developers Say Stringer’s Housing Plan Doesn’t Pencil Out
Mayoral hopeful Scott Stringer wants to require all residential projects to include affordable housing — but some developers say his numbers don’t add up.
Wealth Management Magazine
Beth Mattson-Teig
NCREIF's Real Estate Indexes Seek to Provide Clarity Amid Complex Market Conditions
New NCREIF data for commercial real estate performance in 2020 underscores what industry participants had anticipated—it was a tough year for appreciation and income.
Financial Times
Joshua Chaffin
Black Former NFL Athlete Joins Elite Club of New York City Property Developers
“Black developers and minority developers are significantly under-represented in the real estate community,” said Sam Chandan, the dean of the Schack Institute at New York University, who has been a champion for greater diversity in the industry.
Wealth Management Magazine
John Egan
Economist Sam Chandan Discusses Diversity in CRE, Current Investment Climate
There was a tremendous amount of dry powder, a surfeit of underdeployed capital, prior to the pandemic and that puts a floor on any correction in prices.
BisNow
Miriam Hall
CRE Gets Its Ducks And Dollars In A Row For Crucial Mayoral Run
New York City real estate players are sharpening their focus on the crowded mayoral race, looking where to throw their support — and their money — in a year when the industry is facing unprecedented threats.
Money Magazine
Dima Williams
These Silicon Valley Startups Want to Buy a Chunk of Your Home. Should You Sell?
Americans have more value locked in their homes than ever. Now, a new breed of companies want to help them turn it into cash, but there are risks.
BisNow
Matthew Rothstein
About That Distressed-Asset Feeding Frenzy
The back half of this year promises chances for private equity to make opportunistic real estate plays, but it won’t be as straightforward as the recovery from the global financial crisis.
Gothamist
Ilya Marritz
Long A New York Real Estate Mainstay, LLCs Lose Their Anonymity
On January 1st, Congress passed a measure to end the secrecy around shell companies that has fueled a boom in high-priced New York condominiums. The new law could discourage the flow of international capital into Manhattan real estate, while giving investigators powerful new tools to detect money laundering and other financial crimes.
Financial Times
Hugo Cox
New York Exodus Created a ‘Suburban Dream on Steroids’— But Will It Last?
As growing demand for suburban living pushes up property prices and new arrivals confront its drawbacks — from isolation and higher property taxes to threatened commuter rail services — the boom in suburban home sales shows signs of slowing.
Newsday
Ted Phillips
Farmingdale Considers Letting Some Businesses in on the Ground Floor
As the pandemic threatens retail businesses on Farmingdale’s Main Street, the village board is considering changes to the downtown’s zoning district to allow medical and legal offices at ground level.
BisNow
Matthew Rothstein
The Pandemic Could Do Permanent Damage To Hotel, Retail CMBS Markets
The coronavirus pandemic has decimated retail and hospitality buildings’ cash flows and thus their owners’ ability to pay back their loans. Commercial mortgage-backed securities backed by retail and hotel properties have gone delinquent and been sent to special servicing this year at a higher rate than ever before.
The Real Deal
Erin Hudson
Mortgage Lenders Tighten Screws on NYC Home Buyers
The hurdles to accessing financing for the few homebuyers seeking to purchase in New York City is a gut punch to the city’s depressed housing market — that reveals institutional uncertainty and a lack of confidence in the city’s future, according to experts and industry insiders. The biggest concerns center on declining property values, potential new taxes and rising unemployment.
New York Times
Jane Margolies
In the Pandemic, the Low-Rise is the New High-Rise
The skyscraper, the iconic urban office tower, still captivates by offering jaw-dropping views and the thrill of hovering in the clouds. But in the pandemic, the groundscraper — a building as horizontal as a skyscraper is vertical — has been grabbing attention.
The Real Deal
Kevin Sun
Korean Wave Pours Into US Commercial Real Estate
With massive amounts of capital ready for prime time, South Korean institutions are joining the ranks of the biggest foreign buyers in major markets like New York, Dallas and Los Angeles.
Commercial Property Executive
Roxana Baiceanu
Real Estate Market Crash Unlikely, Experts Say
Economists are calling the pandemic-induced recession unique in several ways. Here’s how analysts expect the health crisis to change the real estate market.
The Real Deal
Akiko Matsuda
Are Office Landlords Turning a Corner or Rolling Over?
With Facebook and other large companies growing their footprints while #WFH remains a dominant trend, the terms of office leasing in big cities are changing fast
The Real Deal
Erin Hudson
Ending 1031 Exchanges: Would Biden’s Plan Hurt Smaller Owners?
How the industry is responding to the proposed tax change that could impact as much as 20 percent of commercial real estate deals in the United States.
Forbes
Sam Chandan
Protections Lapse For The Nation’s Most Vulnerable Renters, Imperiling Their Small Landlords As Well
Political deadlock has stymied attempts to renew measures shielding millions of low-income and unemployed renters from housing insecurity and potential eviction. It has also dashed hopes of near-term support for the smallest landlords struggling to make mortgage and property tax payments. Staving off a deeper rental crisis depends on targeted assistance for both of these vulnerable groups.
SiriusXM Your Money
Kent Smetters
What's Next for the Housing Market
Sam Chandan joins Kent Smetters to discuss the outlook for the housing market and shifting preferences for urban living.
The Real Deal
Keith Larsen
Prologis CEO: Capital Is Not An Issue, It’s Finding Properties
Hamid Moghadam says supply is tight, but predicts “double the demand” for logistics centers in coming years.
Forbes
Sam Chandan
America’s Next Housing Crisis: How The Pandemic Is Pushing Renters To The Brink
As government support fades, the country faces the prospect of a significant housing dislocation that will exact its heaviest toll on income-constrained renters and the small investor-operators who support the workforce and affordable housing markets.
SiriusXM Wharton Business Daily
Dan Loney
Home Mortgage Rates Fall to Lowest Level on Record
Sam Chandan joins Dan Loney to assess the impact of record-low mortgage rates on the housing market.
National Real Estate Investor
Beth Matson-Teig
FHFA Continues to Lay Groundwork for GSEs' Exits from Conservatorship
Against a volatile political and macroeconomic backdrop, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac remain on a path to exit government support.
GlobeSt
Les Shaver
CREFC, NYU Launch Diversity Endowmen Collaboration
The Commercial Real Estate Finance Council and NYU's Schack Institute of Real Estate have announced the creation of the CREFC Center for Real Estate Finance at the Schack Institute.
The Real Deal
Keith Larsen
Submerged in Securities: Many CMBS Hotel Loans WIll Be Underwater Soon
Hotel and retail owners are getting buried in CMBS debt as losses mount and loan servicers loom.
Commercial Observer
Ryan Barrick
Recovering from the COVID Economy
With massive disruptions in the economy over the past few months, many in the industry are scrambling to forge a new path forward.
New York Times / Associated Press
Mike Schneider
Wall Street-Owned Loans Tricky for Hoteliers in Virus Era
The Federal Reserve in April added CMBS to its Term Asset-Backed Securities Loan program, but a group of lawmakers say more needs to be done.