- Blackstone CEO Eyes Real Estate Deals in Europe “Blackstone Inc.’s Steve Schwarzman said his firm is eyeing a bevy of buying opportunities in real estate across Europe as central banks become less aggressive with rate hikes, allowing deal volumes to begin to bounce back. The private equity giant has liked deals it’s seen involving data centers, warehouses and student housing across Europe, Schwarzman said in a Bloomberg Television interview on the sidelines of the UK’s Global Investment Summit in London.” (Bloomberg)
- Norway’s $1.5 Trillion Wealth Fund Recommends Adding Private Equity “Norway’s $1.5 trillion wealth fund recommended that private equity be added to its investment portfolio, reflecting a broader shift among large pension and sovereign funds to diversify beyond public assets. ‘An increasingly larger share of global value creation takes place in the unlisted market,’ Norges Bank Governor Ida Wolden Bache said Tuesday. ‘We believe that such an opening could give higher returns for the fund over time. We think it will be possible to invest in unlisted equities in a way that meet our expectations on transparency and responsibility.’” (Bloomberg)
- Don’t Count on Commercial Real Estate Prices Bottoming Out Any Time Soon “Since the Federal Reserve began raising its benchmark interest rate in March 2022, the U.S. commercial real estate market has seen declining sales. A wait-and-see approach permeates today’s market as investors digest potential future effects of higher borrowing costs.” (CoStar Insight)
- Amid Boom in Private Credit, Oaktree’s Panossian Eyes Opportunities in Private Markets “Armen Panossian, the incoming co-CEO of Oaktree Capital Management, says there's plenty of space to expand organically in private credit.” (Pensions & Investments)
- As Rents Cool, U.S. Inflation Expected to Slow “Declining rent prices in the U.S. are likely to bring inflation down toward the Federal Reserve’s 2% target, says Doug Peta, chief U.S. investment strategist at BCA Research. ‘There is a ton of inventory in the pipeline,’ Peta says, referring to multifamily buildings. ‘We are pretty convinced we will see six-to-nine months of deceleration in inflation via rent.’ That, in turn, bolsters the odds that interest rates have peaked, although Peta expects the Fed won’t start cutting rates as soon or as fast as markets are currently pricing.” (The Wall Street Journal)
- Council Post: Empowering Wealth Managers to Embrace Alternative Investments “As demand for alternative assets grows, wealth managers require additional tools and education to better assess and understand the challenges and opportunities of these investments. By educating their clients about alternatives, wealth managers can bridge the gap to these previously restricted markets.” (Forbes)
- Construction Outlook Paints Promising Picture “Calling 2023 a ‘year of stabilization for the construction industry,’ JLL’s 2024 forecast states a strong project pipeline will keep the industry busy in the U.S. during the coming year, despite higher interest rates and slower private starts. Publishing today, JLL’s forecast for U.S and Canada construction trends notes costs, supply chains and sector-specific needs in the built environment became easier to deal with in 2023, compared to post-pandemic supply chain issues and shortages the previous year. JLL expects total construction costs will see a modest growth—between 2 percent and 4 percent—throughout 2024.” (Commercial Property Executive)
- RealPage, Landlords Say DOJ Trying to Improperly Expand Antitrust Law “Software provider RealPage is pushing back on a court filing from the Department of Justice alleging it engaged in price-fixing, claiming the government's attorneys are overreaching and stretching the limits of federal antitrust law. RealPage and a group of major apartment landlords are defending themselves against a class-action lawsuit in Tennessee federal court, in which a group of tenants have filed suit alleging the company's rent-setting algorithm allows landlords to collude and set rents higher than they would in a competitive market." (Bisnow)
- Think Companies Are Struggling to Fill Offices? Looks at the Government “The Biden administration is telling federal employees to get back in the office on a more regular basis. It isn’t having much better luck than private companies. The White House has been amping up the pressure on federal agencies to increase their return-to-office rate. White House chief of staff Jeff Zients sent an email in August to cabinet agencies instructing them to “aggressively execute” a shift to more in-person work in the fall. But administration officials say their return-to-office goals still haven’t been reached. ‘We still have work to do,’ an administration spokesman said. ‘We’re not there yet.’” (The Wall Street Journal)
- New York City Takes Aim at Landlords for Renting to Illegal Smoke Shops “New York City landlords beware: If you lease to an illegal smoke shop, you could get mail from the sheriff’s office this week. Mayor Eric Adams announced Monday that the owners of 50 buildings across the five boroughs will receive warning letters that they could be on the hook for fines for leasing retail space to illegal smoke shops. It’s the first step in a new legal front the city is pursuing against unlicensed cannabis shops: targeting their landlords.” (Commercial Observer)
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