- Delta Variant Threatens Small Businesses as It Slows Return-to-Office Plans “Tens of thousands of downtown small businesses that have been scraping by were eagerly awaiting the week of Labor Day, when many companies expected that their employees would return to the office. Now, the Covid-19 Delta variant is dashing hopes that workers will be back in large numbers, causing these business owners to scramble again to make rent payments and keep their operations alive. Some are scaling back staff hours, postponing hiring or making additional cuts so they can hold on. Others say they are ready to shut their doors for good if return-to-work plans fizzle in the coming weeks.” (The Wall Street Journal)
- Zell Sweetens Offer in Real Estate Takeover Battle “The question now is whether Starwood Capital Group, led by fellow billionaire Barry Sternlicht, comes back with a higher bid of its own for Monmouth Real Estate Investment.” (Crain’s Chicago Business)
- U.S. Single-Family Rents Soar 7.5% in June, Accelerating Pace “The highest single-family rent price increases continue to be recorded in the Southwest, with Phoenix and Las Vegas up by 16.5% and 12.9%, respectively, CoreLogic said.” (Bloomberg)
- Real Estate Industry Works to Changes Its Ways “Earlier this summer, one day before the first ever Juneteenth federal holiday in the United States, Marcia Fudge, the secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development, stood at a podium in Cleveland and made a bold pledge: By 2030, there will be 3 million new Black homeowners in the United States. The initiative, called 3by30, is a project of the Black Homeownership Collaborative, a coalition committed to transforming the real estate industry, which for decades has been complicit in redlining, housing discrimination, and racially-motivated discrepancies in appraisals.” (The New York Times)
- Hotels Try Out Fees for Using the Pool and Checking In Early “One of the largest U.S. hotel owners is experimenting this year with a new business strategy: Charge guests for most services and amenities, just like in the airline industry. At roughly a dozen of his company’s independent hotels, Tyler Morse said, any guest can get an early check-in, but it costs about $20. A similar fee applies to a late checkout. Use of the pool might be free on a Tuesday morning, but cost guests $25 on a scorching Saturday afternoon. Gym use and breakfast also come with an additional charge.” (The Wall Street Journal)
- Let’s Make a Deal: SF’s Mall Landlords Confront Lost Rent and Vacancies “A look at how the eviction moratorium and lagging rent relief are affecting San Francisco's small landlords.” (The Real Deal)
- Why NYC Brokers Feel So Optimistic “Broker confidence in the prospects for New York City real estate rose to record levels, according to a report released by The Real Estate Board of New York, the city’s leading real estate trade association. This optimism ‘is driven by increased vaccination rates and the return of domestic tourists and entertainment throughout the city, indicating that a strong recovery is underway,’ REBNY President James Whelan said in a prepared statement.” (Commercial Property Executive)
- I Am a Landlord with 24 Properties. We Are Suffering During Biden’s Eviction Ban, Too, And No One Is Helping “The US eviction moratorium now lasts through Oct. 3. It ‘ties the hands of hardworking landlords like me,’ says Julio Gonzalez.” (Insider)
- How Estonia Became a Leader in Proptech “The tiny Baltic nation punches well above its weight with a comprehensive, encrypted land registry and topnotch cybersecurity born out of Russian hacking.” (Commercial Observer)
- MRI Software Buys U.K. Company FSI “MRI Software on Monday, Aug. 16, said it has acquired FSI, a U.K.-based provider of enterprise-class facilities management software products.” (Crain’s Cleveland)
- When Kmart Moved Out, Churches and Flea Markets Moved In “Real estate experts say the average Kmart store was around 84,000 square feet; some were as large as 120,000 square feet, smaller ones closer to 40,000. Approximately 230 million square feet of commercial footage from shuttered Kmarts has gone on the market, much of it in the past decade, the equivalent of 100 MetLife Stadiums or 50 Mall of Americas.” (The New York Times)
- Glossier Opens Seattle Store as the First in Brick-and-Mortar Push “Glossier is opening its first permanent store in Seattle since shuttering all of its locations last year, the company said in details emailed to Retail Dive. It's the beginning of a broader return to physical retail for the DTC brand. The 6,200-square-foot Seattle store opens on Friday, to be followed by a Los Angeles location in the fall, and London in the winter. A previous Glossier pop-up in Seattle had the highest conversion rate of any of its physical locations, at more than 70%.” (Retail Dive)
- New York Restaurateurs Worry About How to Enforce Vaccine Requirement for Indoor Dining “Hope you got your shot New York, because this week, restaurants, gyms and concert venues are testing out a program that requires patrons to be at least partially vaccinated to attend. And it’s already drawn a lawsuit, concern from the business community and a little confusion on its start date. Starting Tuesday, those 12 and older must show proof that they have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine to participate in indoor dining, fitness or entertainment. Staff, too, are required to be vaccinated, according to the city.” (Commercial Observer)
- This Is What Online Retailers Really Think About Leasing Physical Stores “You're just another marketing channel.” (Bisnow)
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