Industry insights, market outlook reports and commercial real estate
news, and trends from the Coldwell
Banker Commercial brand.
Coldwell Banker Commercial agents had a great start to the new year. To help celebrate their accomplishments, we are highlighting just a few of the top deals closed by Coldwell Banker Commercial agents this past January.
Although commercial real estate opportunities continue to grow, expand and thrive; gone are the days where people could care less about sustainability and environmental impacts. In fact, sustainability is not only a trend that is prompting action in multiple facets of the commercial real estate field but driving and changing the landscape as a whole. Investors are paying more attention to sustainability standards for companies and choosing properties that are more sustainable in a variety of ways.
Every industry has its own lingo, but there are some fields that really have a lot of jargon – and commercial real estate is definitely one of those fields. If you don’t have a background in CRE or CRE experience, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed. In talking to new CRE professionals, we hear this expressed over and over, so we thought it would be a good time to share 10 of the most common terms in commercial real estate that everyone should know.
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 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.
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.
Reuters reported at the end of the third quarter last year that the office vacancy rate had remained flat at around 16% for three straight quarters. Experts have predicted that the office market will continue to remain generally flat throughout 2018. Yet despite those numbers, there are cities that are really thriving and we found 10 where the office market is not flat but rather booming with low vacancies and high demand.
Fallout from the housing collapse a decade ago resulted in a surge in the renter population–outpacing homeownership for the first time in history. It also marked a return to cities where more walkability with access to public transportation offered a much more affordable lifestyle for a population struggling to maintain in the midst of the economic collapse.
Augmented Reality and Artificial Intelligence (AR and AI) may still be far from standard in CRE, but it’s only a matter of time. High end firms have already been using these tech tools on a grand scale. Research by Goldman Sachs estimates that by 2025, virtual reality (VR) technology alone will generate over $2.5 billion in revenue. Change is happening now and could hit sooner than many of us believe, leaving some CRE pros behind and pushing others to the forefront.