Responsible Property Investment
As the broader stock market has tumbled further, the freestanding retail real estate investment trust (REIT) sector stayed in positive territory for the year. In contrast to the rest of the REIT industry, total REIT returns for this sector are up more than 10 percent so far in 2016. Also known as triple-net-lease REITs, this is one of the smaller REIT sectors by market cap. Plus, interest rate survey data from Trepp.
When the Pritzker Architecture Prize jury selected Alejandro Aravena of Santiago, Chile, as the 2016 laureate, it was not only for what Aravena designs, but also for what he does not design. The firm for which he serves as executive director, Santiago-based Elemental, has earned international attention for designing low-cost social housing that provides “half a house”—a home that people can inhabit, plus a framework that allows them to double the size of their dwellings as they have time and resources.
Health care has been one of the worst-performing sectors for real estate investment trusts this year, with a total year-to-date return of –17.60 percent. This performance has been surprising, since the sector has been a model for growth in prior years. So what has pulled the sector down during 2015? Plus, interest rate survey results from Trepp.
Could a 220-square-foot (20 sq m) apartment be a housing solution for low- and middle-income residents in high-cost cities? What about modular housing on city-owned land? Or single-family homes reengineered to house more people? These were some of the possibilities discussed by a panel of experts at the ULI Fall Meeting in San Francisco last week.
Airbnb’s Brian Chesky shares the top spot in this year’s Fortune 40 under 40 with Uber CEO Travis Kalanick. Both companies have faced their share of controversy, but are influential in the built environment and the “sharing” economy, particularly as both look to expand internationally.
Detroit complete with new development, a focus on density and walkability, and a growing, diverse population.
In recent years, natural disasters have been striking North America with increasing frequency and intensity. Hurricane Sandy has served as a wake-up call for the building, real estate investment, and insurance industries, as well as for government at all levels and ULI.
Last week, we reviewed capital flows in the real estate capital markets in 2013; this week, we climb out on a limb and start sawing as we try to forecast what 2014 will look like.
In the 33rd edition of Emerging Trends, one of the most highly regarded industry outlook reports published, the opinions of 950 investors, developers, lenders, consultants, and property company representatives point to a rather glum outlook for 2012: the climb out of the real estate depression will be a long and slow one for all but one market sector. Read more to learn why and to learn how cities have improved over a year ago.
If the real estate industry can use this time to recalibrate its thinking about what is an appropriate level of risk-adjusted return, and how it might better account for all costs imposed by real estate development—from commodity to responsible—it may have a better chance to get the next decade of real estate investment right. Read how the real estate industry can lay the foundation for a more successful outcome when the market returns.