- Investor Home Purchases Drop 30% as Rising Rates, High Prices Cool Housing Market “Investor buying of homes tumbled 30% in the third quarter, a sign that the rise in borrowing rates and high home prices that pushed traditional buyers to the sidelines are causing these firms to pull back, too. Companies bought around 66,000 homes in the 40 markets tracked by real-estate brokerage Redfin during the third quarter, compared with 94,000 homes during the same quarter a year ago. The percentage decline in investor purchases was the largest in a quarter since the subprime crisis, save for the second quarter of 2020 when the pandemic shut down most home buying.” (The Wall Street Journal)
- Housing Shortage Reflects the Cheap Cost of Holding Vacant Land “For a glimpse at how a skewed property-tax system worsens the housing shortage in America’s biggest cities, take a look at a 6-acre land parcel in Midtown Manhattan. The site, located next to the United Nations headquarters, is valued at hundreds of millions of dollars, according to analysts. It is zoned for the construction of around 1,500 apartments in a city that has a shortage of housing and rents near record highs. Yet for the past 17 years, the lot has sat empty, and its owner has paid relatively little in taxes on the property because it doesn’t contain any buildings.” (The Wall Street Journal)
- Paying Rent Is Getting Harder for Tenants “Typical apartment renters are having to work a lot harder lately to afford to pay their rents. Over the past five years, rents have grown 36.9%, while the average wage is up only 23%, according to a recent report from Zillow. Nowhere is it more difficult than in Miami, where the typical renter needs to work three full-time days more than they did five years ago to earn enough to pay the typical rent in that metro area.” (GlobeSt.com)
- Major CRE Investors Jockeying to Buy Global Switch in $10B Deal “Three rival investors are near the finish line in bidding to be the new owner of data center specialist Global Switch Holdings, Bloomberg reports, citing unnamed sources familiar with the matter. The current owners are Jiangsu Shagang Group Co. and Avic Trust Co. The potential buyers include EQT AB, KKR & Co. and PAG. The three are the finalists in what could be a deal that values Global Switch at as much as $10B.” (Bisnow)
- Coney Island Has a Bit of Everything. Does It Need a Casino? “The Cyclone roller coaster. The boardwalk. The famous hot dogs. Not to mention the aquarium, baseball stadium and wide expanse of ocean beach. What more could Coney Island need? In the opinion of Joseph J. Sitt, a longstanding Coney Island landlord, the answer is a beachfront casino. On Tuesday, Mr. Sitt, the chief executive of Thor Equities, will announce a proposal, in partnership with Saratoga Casino Holdings and the Chickasaw Nation, to try to secure one of up to three new casino licenses aimed at the New York City region.” (The New York Times)
- Office Subleasing Strategies “At a national level, subleasing activity is currently increasing. During the first quarter of 2022, the leasing of sublease space rose 60 percent year-over-year, according to a CBRE report. While activity is on the rise, availability for sublease space in every major market, including the office space, is above pre-COVID levels.” (Commercial Property Executive)
- On the Link with: Commercial Real Estate Idol Diane Butler “Commercial real estate veteran Diane Butler sold her regional valuation company, Butler Burgher Group, bought it back for pennies on the dollar, then sold it again six years later for 150 percent more than the original sale price. When it comes to making deals, and when it comes to working her way around the golf course, Butler is savvy.” (D Magazine)
- How One Manhattan Firm’s Office Reflects Big Changes in the Legal Industry “One could be forgiven for thinking the workplace of Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP was a restaurant rather than a law office. The 140,000-square-foot space — all of the fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth and 10th floors, and about two-thirds of the ninth at 50 Rockefeller Plaza — boasts a warming kitchen, where one can get everything from a cup of coffee to a full meal, not to mention plenty of places to sit down and eat with your food, both inside and out, plus grab-and-go pantries on each practice floor The offices, designed to serve the needs of some 160 attorneys as well as staff, represent corporate legal representation at its most up to date.” (Commercial Observer)
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