- Fed Sets New Rules to Ease Regulations on Smaller Banks “Smaller banks would face ‘significantly’ reduced regulations while larger institutions would see largely the same scrutiny under rules the Federal Reserve proposed Wednesday. The changes would be the latest moves the central bank has made to reduce the regulatory burden for community and regional financial institutions, unwinding some of the restrictions put in place after the financial crisis.” (CNBC)
- Why Pressure in Japan Is Undercutting Shares of U.S. Real Estate Companies “Japanese investors, who helped fuel strong performance by U.S. real-estate investment trusts during the early years of the economic recovery, are now compounding the sector’s recent problems by dumping these shares. Japan-based REIT funds, mostly focused on the U.S., had amassed $68 billion of assets under management two years ago and controlled a 7% share of the entire U.S. REIT market, according to Green Street Advisors.” (Wall Street Journal, subscription required)
- How to Prepare for the Next Real Estate Downturn “Fast forward to 2018 and it’s starting to look a little familiar. In Northern California, we frequently see homes sell significantly over asking price, regardless of appraisals or the condition of the home. Demand is outpacing supply, and prices are rising again. In hot rental markets across the country, we continually see local investors totally puzzled by how much out of state folks are willing to pay for traditionally modest priced homes.” (Forbes)
- Housing Market Now ‘Reminds Me of 2006,’ Robert Shiller Says “Famed housing-watcher Robert Shiller said Tuesday that the weakening housing market reminded him of the last market top, just before the subprime housing bubble burst, slashing prices by nearly a third and costing millions of Americans their homes. Home price gains moderated again in the most recent version of the closely-watched housing index that bears his name, which was released Tuesday, and Shiller, a Nobel Prize-winning economist, told Yahoo Finance that such data shows ‘a sign of weakness.’” (MarketWatch)
- How Sears Wasted $6 Billion That Could Have Kept It Out of Bankruptcy “Would $6 billion in cash have kept Sears out of bankruptcy? It sure wouldn't have hurt. Sears' ability to stay in business is in doubt after the company filed for bankruptcy protection this month. Yet Sears spent $6 billion buying back its own shares since 2005 in a futile effort to help support its stock price. The stock plunged more than 99% in value, from a high of $143.91 in 2007 to less than $1 a share a couple of weeks before its bankruptcy filing. In bankruptcy, the shares are essentially worthless.” (CNN Money)
- Pop-Up Stores and Dive Bars: How a Property Developers Plans to Cure NYC’s Empty Storefronts “A global real-estate firm thinks it may have found a way to slow the rise of vacant storefronts that have marred New York City neighborhoods and other metro areas. Brookfield Properties this spring acquired seven empty retail spaces on Bleecker Street. The downtown block, which cuts through Manhattan’s West Village neighborhood, has become infamous for its proliferation of retail vacancies after rents shot way up. The closed doors have depressed local residents and alienated shoppers.” (Wall Street Journal, subscription required)
- Can a Silicon Valley-Backed Hotel Startup Offer Boutique Lodging for Less? “A new lodging concept launching in Miami today seeks to fuse numerous startup and tech industry tropes in order to build a better hotel brand and travel experience. Life House believes vertical integration is the path to offering a boutique hotel experience at a discount price. Founded by Rami Zeidan, a former Sydell Group, Starwood, and TPG executive, and technology entrepreneur and Chief Technology Officer Yury Yakubchyk, and backed by $70 million in funding, the startup aims to have 20 properties in development across the country by the end of 2019.” (Curbed)
- What Happens When an EB-5 Project Fails? “The team led by Ray Parello, Ken Bernstein and Jack and Eugene Kessler were longtime associates or employees of Turnberry Associates, the Miami development group led by the Soffer family. A brochure for the 136-key Las Olas project — at 550 Seabreeze Boulevard — boasted the group has developed “well over 15 million square feet of upscale shopping centers, hotels condominiums & clubs.” The partnership, which called itself 550 Seabreeze Development LLC, claimed the Las Olas development would have a total value of $101.2 million when completed. Today, it is still under construction.” (The Real Deal)
- Federal Suit Over Pot, Property Values Could Have Broad Implications “A federal trial in Colorado could have far-reaching effects on the United States’ budding marijuana industry if a jury sides with a couple who say having a cannabis business as a neighbor hurts their property’s value. The trial set to begin Monday in Denver is the first time a jury will consider a lawsuit using federal anti-racketeering law to target cannabis companies. But the marijuana industry has closely watched the case since 2015, when attorneys with a Washington, D.C.-based firm first filed their sweeping complaint on behalf of Hope and Michael Reilly.” (Claims Journal)
- How to Break Into Real Estate Investing as a Solopreneur “Many people think you have to be, well, Donald Trump, to be a real estate investor, but plenty of individual investors are jumping into the fray. Among nonemployer businesses the U.S. –that is, firms where the owners are the only employees—there were 1,714 bringing in $1 million to $2.49 million in revenue in 2016, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. And there are many more getting close to breaking $1 million in revenue, with 99,154 bringing in $500,000 to $999,999 per year.” (Forbes)
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