Forecasters predict a 70% chance that this hurricane season will be worse than normal. For businesses already stretched thin by the coronavirus pandemic, the grim forecast comes at a perilous time. Sectors such as insurance, real estate, hospitality and health care are particularly vulnerable. … READ MORE >
Real estate
Housing remains a leader in the economic recovery
Housing continues to be a bright spot in the economy, with housing starts jumping 17.3% in June and housing permits rising 2.1% — the second straight month of gains . … READ MORE >
Rethinking the staycation: Driving boosts hotel occupancy in regional hotspots
As cities slowly awaken from coronavirus-related lockdowns and reopen their economies, regions that rely on auto travel are leading the nascent recovery in the hospitality sector. … READ MORE >
Miles away: U.S. airports face heavy lift and slow recovery
The COVID-19 pandemic and resulting shelter-in-place protocols have devastated the airline industry. Along with it, airports across the country, rife with retail, have suffered significant losses.
As cancellations of business trips and vacations mounted beginning with the onset of the outbreak in mid-March, traffic from travelers plummeted. The Transportation Safety Administration reported that throughput fell to approximately 100,000 people per day by the first week of April, down from almost 2.2 million daily a month earlier. … READ MORE >
What’s behind the resurgent housing market
With the onset of coronavirus, a wave of uncertainty overtook the housing market and brought a swift halt to home sales and home building in March and April. But trends in May and June have shown that housing may be in midst of a V-shaped recovery. … READ MORE >
Infrastructure will remain hot, but beware of projects that could burn your bottom line
Having a large backlog of infrastructure projects is usually a good thing. But as state budgets have been roiled by the COVID-19 pandemic, it is imperative the construction businesses review potential road, highway and civil jobs with an eye toward financial trouble spots. … READ MORE >
Home construction collapses under coronavirus lockdown
Housing starts plummeted 30.5% to an annualized rate of 891,000 in April as the full weight of the coronavirus lockdowns hit the sector, the Commerce Department reported on Tuesday. … READ MORE >
Is brick and mortar dead? This time, we’re talking about office buildings.
As many middle market companies have shown that they can shift from a traditional brick-and-mortar setting to a virtual one, office building tenants, and landlords, are rethinking the need for offices in the future — and the related fixed costs they bring. … READ MORE >
A bright spot amid the economic wreckage of coronavirus: apartment rental payments
On Friday, the National Multifamily Housing Council released its Rent Payment Tracker, and reported that 80.2% of apartment households made a full or partial rent payment as of May 6. … READ MORE >
For real estate companies, the new Paycheck Protection Program funding is not a cure-all
The new Paycheck Protection Program will most likely face the same problem it had before: There isn’t enough money. At a burn rate that banking insiders estimate at $50 billion a day, the new Paycheck Protection Program funds are expected to be exhausted within a week. … READ MORE >