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A midyear survey of home sales rates at the 50 top-selling master-planned communities (MPCs) in the United States indicates the potential for a 10 percent increase by the end of 2019 compared with last year. That exceeds expectations, according to RCLCO’s report, Top-Selling Master-Planned Communities Mid-Year 2019. The listed communities, on average, are experiencing 3 percent growth in sales over midyear 2018.

For more than a decade, online hospitality marketplaces such as Airbnb, HomeAway, Vrbo, and others have disrupted the global lodging industry by offering inexpensive short-term rental accommodations. But almost from their inception, these online marketplaces have been at loggerheads with officials and local communities who blame the firms for reducing tax revenue, causing havoc in some neighborhoods, and raising housing prices.

The Chile-based global architect–and this year’s ULI J.C. Nichols lauraeate–has made extraordinary contributions to the design of affordable housing, public spaces, infrastructure, and transportation.

The hotel industry in Japan is evolving, with new lodging models emerging, some of which incorporate elements of the burgeoning sharing economy. A panel of real estate and hotel experts at the ULI Japan Fall Conference, held in Tokyo in November, discussed the “capsule hotel” and other models in Japan.

The Dodge Momentum Index moved 4.2 percent lower in October to 150.5 (2000=100) from the revised September reading of 157.0. The index is a monthly measure of the initial report for North American nonresidential building projects in planning, published by analytics and workflow provider for the construction industry Dodge Data & Analytics, which has been shown to lead construction spending for nonresidential buildings by a full year. October’s decline was the third-consecutive monthly decline.

Emerging Trends in Real Estate ^® Asia Pacific 2019, a real estate forecast jointly published by ULI and PwC, has Melbourne and Singapore as the top cities for investment in the region, followed by Sydney, Tokyo, and Osaka. The report, which is being released at a series of events across Asia over the next several weeks, provides an outlook on Asia Pacific real estate investment and development trends, real estate finance and capital markets, and trends by property sector and metropolitan area.

ULI’s Global Strategic Plan emphasizes strengthening member engagement by providing more opportunities to participate in the Institute’s unique member networks, including the highly popular Product Council network. Nine Product Councils—including five new ones and four additional flights to existing councils—were added during FY 2018, opening up participation to 228 members who had never before served on a council, as well as 98 members who transferred membership or rejoined councils.

Coworking reigns as a core strategy, rather than a craze, against the backdrop of commercial real estate evolving from a space-leasing business to a service-delivery business, said speakers at a ULI Houston luncheon in November.

As part of a wide-ranging panel on adapting development to new technologies, held at the ULI Japan Fall Conference in Tokyo in November, industry leaders discussed using e-commerce data to drive development decisions, adapting Japan’s traditional banking sector for the future, and creating a more innovative startup culture.

ULI has announced a new chairman and a new president for its Americas region, which serves the Institute’s members in the United States, Canada, and Mexico. Global Board member and ULI Treasurer John R. “Jack” Chandler, founder of Majesteka Investments Holdings and chief investment officer and board member for Reterro Inc., and former managing director and chairman of BlackRock’s global real estate business in New York City, has been named chairman of the Americas region, a volunteer role that includes service as chairman of the Americas Executive Committee. Multifamily industry leader Gwyneth Jones Cote, who most recently served as chief operating officer for Bell Partners, has joined ULI’s staff as the president of the Americas region.