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Brett Widness

Brett Widness is the managing editor of Urban Land. Previously, he worked in online editorial at the Washington Post, AARP, and AOL, now part of Yahoo!

JLL’s latest report analyzes markets with a high concentration of in-demand, affordable tech talent and available real estate, much of which is located near research universities that can be tapped for new employees.
Central Hong Kong and London’s West End topped the latest list of prime office occupancy costs, according to CBRE Research’s latest annual Global Prime Office Occupancy Costsreport. “The global top ten list reflects the ongoing strength of global gateway cities in attracting and maintaining a successful occupier base,” said Richard Barkham, global chief economist at CBRE.
Vivek Wadhwa, a futurist and a distinguished fellow and adjunct professor at Carnegie Mellon University’s College of Engineering, shared his insights on technology’s impact on our lives, jobs and business, at the ULI Asia Pacific Summit in Singapore, followed by an interactive discussion with Richard Price of CBRE Global Investors and ULI Global board member.
According to the Wall Street Journal, the median size of a new single-family home declined for the first time since 2009, slipping 2 percent to 2,422 square feet (225 sq m) in 2016. This is only the third time in the last 20 years that it has fallen, according to U.S. Census Bureau data.
Following a dip in April, the Dodge Momentum Index advanced 4.0 percent in May to 139.1, up from the April reading, which was revised down to 133.7. The index is a monthly measure of the initial report for nonresidential building projects in planning, which have been shown to lead construction spending for nonresidential buildings by a full year.
U.S. multifamily rents increased in May for the third month in a row, according to Yardi Matrix’s monthly survey of 121 markets, but the rate of growth continues to decelerate. On a year-over-year basis, U.S. monthly rents were up 1.5 percent nationwide in May. The year-over-year growth rate has decreased for 13 straight months since peaking at 5.4 percent in April 2016.
The current U.S. economic expansion is already one of the longest since World War II, but because most investors have been relatively conservative in their investment choices, few reasons exist for concern about a sharp downturn in the near term, panelists said at the 2017 ULI Spring Meeting. They also agreed that certain policy changes like corporate repatriation of profits or tax cuts would increase the possibility of further growth.
Hong Kong remained the world’s highest-priced office market last year, according to CBRE Group’s latest survey. Four of the top five fastest-growing markets for prime office rent were in Europe, with Stockholm, Berlin, and Dublin joining Belfast on the list.
According to JLL’s 2017 Banking Outlook, increased use of mobile banking could decrease the need for traditional bank branches by 20 percent in the next five years, although some underserved markets are still seeing new construction.
The Dodge Momentum Index increased by 0.9 percent in March to 144.4 from its revised February reading of 143.2. The index, produced by Dodge Data & Analytics, has risen for six consecutive months, with much of the gain being driven by institutional projects entering planning while commercial projects so far in 2017 have receded slightly. Plus, interest rate survey results from Trepp.
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