Sales are slow. Leasing is sluggish. You need more activity, but your cash is tight. How can you squeeze more momentum from your marketing budget? Read what several ULI council members offer in terms of maximizing marketing using traditional and social media outlets.
Austin is one of the fastest-growing cities in the nation, and has relatively low unemployment and a housing market that was spared the recession’s worst impacts. The city’s economy is doing fairly well in spite of the downturn, says Todd C. LaRue, principal in the Austin office of RCLCO Real Estate Advisors and member of the executive advisory board for ULI Austin. Read what else he and other ULI members have to say about the Austin market.
What is surprising for the industry is the hotel recovery is happening at such a rapid clip, says Richard C. Conti, chairman of ULI’s Hotel Development Council. “The traditional U.S. hotel industry’s demand usually follows the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and the industry usually goes through an 8-12 year cycle,” he continues. Read what Conti and other ULI members see ahead in the hotel industry.
While the real estate industry in Florida and Georgia has slowed compared to the torrid pace of several years ago, long-term economic growth and demographic trends continue to favor the two states, and that means development is expected to pick up when demand increases. Read what factors are causing developers to remain optimistic about the region’s future prospects.
America’s obsession with social networking on sites such as Facebook and its fascination with new technology are spurring one of the hottest trends in the real estate industry today: construction of data centers. Increased demand has also been noted by Doug Hollidge, CEO of Charlotte, North Carolina–based Five 9s Digital. Read about where this development is happening and read advice for those considering development of data centers.
Despite the current volatility and concerns about financing, real estate will continue to be a good investment in the long term, says Richard A. Kessler, chief operating officer of Benenson Capital Partners LLC. Kessler, also chairman of ULI New York, offers readers advice about property type, tenants, geography and the proper approach for investing, developing and managing.
A freestanding Smart & Final warehouse grocery store in Modesto, California, was sold to a private investor for $1.9 million—and at an 8.56 percent cap rate. A nearly 9 percent cap rate in today’s market? It was a triple-net-lease property in a tertiary market. Philip D. Voorhees, senior vice president in the Newport Beach, California, office of CB Richard Ellis Inc. and an expert on triple-net leases offers advice for developers.
“The broader Australian economy is strong,” explains Roy Sheargold, Chairman of the Sheargold Group, a property development company in Sydney, Australia and a ULI Foundation Trustee. “As a result, confidence in commercial real estate is re-emerging and vacancy rates are falling.” Read what is fueling the economy in Australia, what development is underway and what experts think the market holds.
It’s described as the largest private real estate venture in history – a $35 billion development on 1,500 acres (607 ha) of reclaimed land in Incheon, South Korea. Designed as a model for sustainable city-scale developments, Songdo International Business District (IBD) is among the first urban areas to seek Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design for Neighborhood Development certification. Read what the developer is doing to take the lessons learned to other urban areas.
According to a study published in the August issue of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, researchers from the University of Pennsylvania, Drexel University and the RAND Corporation found that construction of a light-rail system in Charlotte, North Carolina resulted in increased physical activity and subsequent weight loss by people served by light-rail.
