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10 Must Reads for the CRE Industry Today (September 20, 2018)

The U.S. economy will grow by approximately 3 percent through the rest of 2018, according to MarketWatch. UC Berkley researchers weigh in on California’s rent control debate. These are among today’s must reads from around the commercial real estate industry.

  1. Economy Poised to Grow 3% or More for the Rest of 2018, Leading Indicators Signal “The nine-year-old U.S. expansion is poised for 3% growth in the second half of 2018, according to an index that measures the nation’s economic health. The leading economic index rose 0.4% August following even stronger gains in the prior two months, the Conference Board said Thursday.” (MarketWatch)
  2. Rising Treasury Yields Are Dragging Down Utility and Real Estate Stocks “Long-term Treasury yields have crept back to close to their 2018 highs, which are dragging down interest-sensitive stock sectors such as utilities and real-estate investment trusts Wednesday. The benchmark 10-year Treasury note yield poked above the 3% mark briefly Friday, and traded up to 3.073% midday Wednesday, just shy of its 2018 high of 3.113% touched May 17. The 30-year bond yield was up to 3.223%, a bit below the 3.248% peak hit the same day.” (Barron’s, subscription required)
  3. UC Berkley Report Defends Rent Control in California Cities “An upcoming ballot measure has renewed debate around California over the merits of rent control and the ability of local lawmakers to address the state’s severe shortage of affordable housing. Less than a month after UC Berkeley economist Kenneth Rosen published a paper arguing, among other things, that rent control policies have worsened the state’s housing shortage, a separate group of researchers from the school’s Haas Institute released a policy brief today arguing that rent control can be a useful tool cities can use to ‘address the immediate needs of California’s renters.’” (LA Curbed)
  4. You May Be Surprised to Hear That Restoration Hardware Is Doing Great “Restoration Hardware seemed doomed. Now, it’s a vast and booming bricks and mortar empire. What gives?” (The New York Times)
  5. Retailers Could Ring Up More Than $1.1 Trillion in Holiday Sales, Topping Last Year “Retailers appear to have the odds in their favor this holiday season, with record-low unemployment across the U.S., strong consumer confidence and building sales momentum so far in 2018.” (CNBC)
  6. Former Real Estate Guru Rick Koerber’s Fate on Fraud Allegations Is Once Again in the Hands of a Jury “For the second time, a federal jury is now weighing whether former real estate guru Rick Koerber illegally deceived investors and ran a Ponzi scheme. Koerber faces 18 charges in an indictment that alleges that from 2004 to 2008 he took in about $100 million from investors and used about half as interest payments, paying it back to investors to give the appearance of profitability.” (Salt Lake Tribune)
  7. Housing Starts Roar Back Even as Builder Permits Fall to 15-Month Low “Housing starts ran at a 1.282 million seasonally adjusted annual rate in August, the Commerce Department said Wednesday. That was 9.2% higher than July’s pace, and 9.4% higher than a year ago.” (MarketWatch)
  8. The 10 Most-Hyped NYC Buildings “The highly anticipated 111 W. 57th St. condo, on Billionaire’s Row, launched sales last week, with prices from $18 million to over $57 million. It ends a rocky few years for the under-construction luxury project, including lawsuits accusing developers JDS and Property Markets Group (PMG) of diluting the stake of an equity partner, and infighting that disrupted a previous sales effort.” (New York Post)
  9. Cross-Border Capital Flows in U.S. Real Estate Markets “While many investors and economists scratch their heads and debate how long the recovery and expansion can last in the U.S., global economic growth has accelerated after slowing from 2010-2016, according to the International Monetary Fund. As the U.S. commercial real estate market maintains strong fundamentals and solid returns, foreign capital continues to flow from many parts of the globe including Canada, Europe and Asia.” (Commercial Property Executive)
  10. In the Changing World of Commercial Real Estate, a Degree Is Becoming a Requirement “For Casey Flannery, an administrative job out of college at a commercial real estate firm in Memphis, Tennessee, soon sparked an interest in trying her hand at brokerage. But it was only after Flannery, 29, took that position that she realized the complexity of brokerage and wished she would have taken some finance and real estate courses when she was in college.” (Bisnow)
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