Industry insights, market outlook reports and commercial real estate
news, and trends from the Coldwell
Banker Commercial brand.
For years, modern and flexible office spaces were the stomping grounds of small, boutique startups and the self-employed creative types. And, while those groups still play a large role in the market, larger and more traditional companies are now beginning to see the benefits of flexible office spaces.
It comes as no surprise that many brick and mortar retail outlets have reported an overall dip in sales, thanks to the prevalence and mass appeal of online shopping. After all, being able to skip the traffic and parking, as well as the long lines at checkout, is hard to turn down. And, in particular, large indoor malls have really struggled – in fact, many have lost tenants and have been struggling to get shoppers through their doors, leading smart retails to explore new options for increasing foot traffic.
As the name implies, a dockless bike share is a bike sharing program that doesn’t require a stationary docking station. With a dockless system, these bikes can be parked within a defined perimeter at a bike rack, or even along the street on the sidewalk. Using a smartphone app, these bikes can be located and then unlocked with the touch of a hand (literally). Recently, dockless scooters have also come onto the scene.
It seems that everywhere you look today, it’s almost impossible to avoid hearing or reading stories about Millennials. We have all heard about how they are making huge strides and taking the lead in business, politics, real estate, philanthropy, and more. But what you might not have heard yet is that Millennials are even shaping your grocery store.
It has been said that it is only a matter of time before blockchain, the proprietary technology that supports cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, will begin to infiltrate industries all around the world. And, believe it or not, even historically traditional industries are not immune to the disruption – commercial real estate included.
While senior housing has always been a profitable industry, it has really been able to stand on its own two feet recently as a viable and significant class of real estate – with more and more outside investors jumping on board and adding senior housing to their portfolios. In a recent survey conducted by the National Investment Center for Seniors Housing and Care (NIC) and National Real Estate Investor (NREI), senior housing was once again the most attractive real estate asset class when compared to a host of other commercial real estate classes, including industrial, hotels, multifamily housing, office and retail, and more.
Last year, transit-oriented developments were all the talk. What many developers and investors found was that making these types of developments work with local government entities is not always easy – despite TOD being a win-win-win for cities, residents, and businesses.
When unemployment rates go up as high as they did during the recession, newly unemployed folks rush to enroll in higher education. Either to improve their marketability and skills for an increasingly educated job market or to have access to money while looking for work, universities saw in uptick in both foreign and domestic student enrollment in U.S. universities during the economic collapse in 2010.
A full 90% of new multifamily construction today is rentals according to one study. For the last several years, demand in multifamily has outpaced new construction, causing some places to see huge spikes in rent prices. Still demand has not slowed while prices have been growing by up to 8% year-over-year. Experts predict rent prices to normalize around 2%.
Lost in the headlines about Amazon acquiring hundreds of Whole Foods stores last year was the company’s announcement of a big search for a new second headquarters – although everyone in CRE was paying attention. Unusual but not atypical for a company as known for being innovative and different as Amazon is, opening a second headquarters means tens of thousands of new jobs as well as the other new businesses and residents that will spring up around it.