Vacancy rates to fall, landlords cut student rent rates, and Amazon transforms Seattle
Aug 30, 2013
Here are the news stories you might have missed this week:
REIT.com: Commercial real estate forecast shows vacancy, rent improvements
The National Association of Realtors’ (NAR) released its quarterly commercial real estate forecast, which projects falling vacancy rates and modest rent growth. Though vacancy rates in the office, retail, and industrial sectors are expected to decline, multifamily vacancy rates are projected to remain fairly level due to limited availability of multifamily properties. This, in turn, might cause apartment rent to rise up to 8% by the end of 2014. For an in-depth look at this forecast, visit REIT.com.
Bloomberg: New Orleans rolling in cash sees rebirth: real estate
Eight years after the devastating effects of Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans is growing rapidly. Commercial real estate transactions in the first five months of 2013 totaled $424.7 million, up more than 40% from 2012 totals. With tourism spending hitting record highs, hotel demand is also increasing, and construction projects are underway for a wide variety of property types, including homes, retail space, and offices. For more information about this transformation and areas still in need of improvement, visit Bloomberg.com
The Wall Street Journal: Student off-campus housing is back-to-school bargain
The rising cost of advanced education remains a fiercely debated topic, but some students might receive a surprising financial break this year. According to The Wall Street Journal, an oversupply of college housing (51,000 off-campus beds are predicted to join the market this year alone) is forcing landlords across the country to slash their rent rates in order to fill rooms. That oversupply is on top of rising student-housing vacancy rates, which climbed approximately 1.5% over the past two years at the top 74 domestic universities, leaving an estimated 37,000 empty beds as the fall semester begins. Read more about what caused this supply and demand conundrum at WSJ.com.
New York Times: As Amazon stretches, Seattle’s downtown is reshaped
Amazon already occupies 14 buildings in the Seattle region, but construction on the company’s first headquarters in South Lake Union is revitalizing what was once a low-rise, low-rent warehouse district. The headquarters will bring 15,000 Amazon employees to the area, with the prospect of an additional 12,000 when the complex is complete. While some fear that the community might not be able to support this rapid growth for the long term, others, such as apartment developers and tech companies, see tremendous opportunity. Visit NYTimes.com to read more about what this development means for Seattle.
Author: Raymond T. Cirz