One Big Thing Interesting story in Globe Street early this week about ReadyCap providing $104MM in construction-to-bridge financing on a new 200 unit apartment building in San Francisco. The project had apparently been behind on leasing thanks to COVID and therefore not able to obtain permanent financing when the construction...
March 8th – Gorging
What I'm Reading Gorging: Homebuilders are buying up undeveloped lots at a frantic pace in an effort to meet today's incredibly strong demand. However, that demand isn't permanent and the land grab could lead to pain for those participating. Ivy Zelman sums it up perfectly: “The biggest concern I have...
February 26th – Mind the Gap
One Big Thing Treasury yields are soaring of late so of course a lot of the conversation around commercial real estate in general and multi-family in particular is when cap rates will begin to reflect this. I have a bit of a contrarian take that I outlined on a Twitter...
February 10th – The Great Migration
What I'm Reading The Great Migration: A new report from JBREC suggests that An estimated 400,000 households will move specifically due to their work at home challenges. This segment will be dominated by young families, who report frustration with the limitations (noise, space, privacy) of their current setup for remote...
February 3rd – Normalized
What I'm Reading Normalized: Before the pandemic, the barriers to widespread remote work were as much mental as they were technological. Now those barriers have broken down completely and the implications are huge for both regional population flows and the future of the office market. The Atlantic Back to Normal:...
January 29th – Behind the Scenes
What I'm Reading Behind the Scenes: Unless you live under a rock, you have probably heard about the massive short squeezes (and crashes) in troubled retailer GameStop and struggling theater operator AMC over the past couple of weeks. Both companies' stocks have soared but, despite the increases in valuation, both...
January 19th – Mismatch
What I'm Reading Mismatch: Residential development is booming and unemployment is relatively high, yet home builders are still experiencing a labor shortage. This is due to both a stigma about working in construction (even though it often pays more than some office jobs) and a lack of workers who have...
January 12th – Fallout
What I’m Reading Fallout: CoStar is estimating that the reckoning from COVID will eventually result in $126 billion of distressed real estate sales with a heavy concentration in lodging and retail. However, with an estimated $200 billion of capital raised to capitalize on such an opportunity, it is difficult to see...
December 11th – Staying Power
What I’m Reading Staying Power: Office CMBS distress may last quite a bit longer than initially thought according to Trepp as revenues continue to decline while expenses rise. Globe Street See Also: As employers eagerly await the Covid-19 vaccines that promise to return staff to offices after months of working from home, new...
November 24th – Cracks in the Armor
What I’m Reading Cracks in the Armor: Chuck E Cheese (CEC Entertainment) was able to successfully use a Force Majeure clause to lower its rent in a bankruptcy case. This provided evidence that bankruptcy courts may be willing to grant debtors extraordinary relief in light of the ongoing pandemic, but...