Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden on Tuesday unveiled a 10-year, $775-billion plan to support what he deemed “the caring economy,” which is comprised of jobs that provide care for children and the elderly. In order to finance this proposal, Biden is looking to the real estate investment ... READ MORE >
Real estate
Is brick and mortar dead? This time, we’re talking about office buildings.
As the human toll of the coronavirus pandemic has mounted, companies have limited non-essential business travel and told employees to work from home. The effect on cities has been profound, and unsettling, with a cityscape characterized by empty office buildings, quiet streets and shuttered ... READ MORE >
A bright spot amid the economic wreckage of coronavirus: apartment rental payments
While many businesses remain closed and the country experiences record levels of unemployment, apartment owners can take some solace that tenants are still making their rent payments. On Friday, the National Multifamily Housing Council released its Rent Payment Tracker, and reported that 80.2% of ... READ MORE >
For real estate companies, the new Paycheck Protection Program funding is not a cure-all
It took about two weeks for the $349 billion Paycheck Protection Program, a federal aid package aimed at shoring up small and medium-size businesses, to run out of money after it was launched on April 3. Now, the Senate has approved another $310 billion for the program. The new round of financing ... READ MORE >
With lifeline from Paycheck Protection Program cut short, real estate turns to bankers for liquidity
The Paycheck Protection Program, a $350 billion government effort to help small and medium-size businesses weather the coronavirus pandemic, is hitting its funding limit less than two weeks after it was launched on April 3. "At the present run-rate, we're going to be out of money," Lawrence Kudlow, ... READ MORE >
How the real estate sector can weather an economy that has all but ground to a halt
In the real estate industry, the first of the month holds a certain significance – after all, it’s when rent payments are due. But this April 1 is quite different, coming amid the steep economic downturn caused by the coronavirus pandemic. Landlords are girding for the very real prospect that the ... READ MORE >
Between a rock and a hard place, retailers ask to stop paying rent to survive
In a move for self-preservation, retailers are demanding that their landlords withhold or slash rent in the coming months as stores have closed to slow the spread of the coronavirus. Even before the onset of the virus, retail was already experiencing bankruptcies and store closures as consumers migrated ... READ MORE >
Can hotels become hospitals? Thinking creatively about how to put empty space to work
Hotel companies in the United States are imploring Washington for relief amid the escalating cancellations because of the coronavirus pandemic. Industry leaders face seemingly impossible decisions as revenues have all but disappeared while significant fixed expenses remain. Chief executives from the ... READ MORE >
How ESG is affecting the real estate and construction industries
As public pressure builds for industries to adhere to environmental, social and governance standards, the real estate and construction industries are no exception. The European Union, for example, has passed many regulations that require proper ESG planning and disclosures for real estate ... READ MORE >
Is the next mortgage bubble imminent? Not so fast, the debt data tells us
Residential mortgages totaled $9.4 trillion as of June 30 and overall consumer debt reached an all-time high of $13.86 trillion, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. Residential mortgage debt eclipsed the 2008 peak of $9.29 trillion, fueling the belief among some market watchers that a ... READ MORE >