Skip navigation
office building camera onurdongel/iStock/Getty Images

Six Must Reads for the CRE Industry Today (April 28, 2021)

The New York Times looks at how data is changing how office buildings are operated. Shoppers have been returning to malls as vaccination numbers rise and virus cases ease, reports the Wall Street Journal. These are among today’s must reads from around the commercial real estate industry.

  1. How Data Is Changing the Way Offices Are Run “Developers are harnessing a growing obsession with data to improve office buildings in ways that could cut costs and streamline operations, saving owners millions of dollars annually. The field, known as property technology, or proptech, has become a booming sector in commercial real estate as property managers seek to use data collection and artificial intelligence to help control systems like heating, lighting, air quality and even the flow of workers.” (The New York Times)
  2. Seven Weeks, $5 Billion: Stephen Schwarzman Cashes In on Blackstone’s Dealmaking Blitz “Schwarzman was listed at No. 79 on the 2021 Forbes Billionaires list in March with $21.9 billion, but his fortune has risen $4.9 billion since then, fueled by a flurry of global dealmaking that includes plans to acquire a reported $720 million real estate portfolio in India. A representative for Schwarzman declined to comment on the India deal and referred Forbes to the firm’s earnings announcement last week for an explanation of its record share price.” (Forbes)
  3. Shoppers Return to Malls, with an Urge to Spend “Vaccinated shoppers are heading back to the mall, offering hope that the worst of the pandemic downturn is over for this beleaguered industry. Foot traffic at a representative sample of 50 malls in March was up 86% from the same month last year, according to mobile-device location data from analytics firm Placer.ai. While that foot traffic was 24% lower than in March 2019, mall owners are suggesting that their business has turned a corner.” (Wall Street Journal)
  4. A $7 Billion Mistake? New York Seeks to Curb New Hotels. “New York City leaders, led by Mayor Bill de Blasio, are closing in on a controversial plan to drastically restrict hotel development, a move that the mayor’s own experts fear could endanger the city’s post-pandemic recovery and cost billions in lost tax revenue. The mayor wants to require City Council approval for any new hotel, anywhere in the city — a layer of scrutiny otherwise reserved for neighborhood-altering projects such as airports, helipads, racetracks, large stadiums and drive-in movie theaters.” (The New York Times)
  5. Lakeside Idaho City Is America’s Hottest Housing Market in New WSJ/Realtor.com Index “The picturesque lakeside city of Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, tops the list of the country’s hottest emerging housing markets, according to a new ranking launched Tuesday. The Wall Street Journal/Realtor.com Emerging Housing Market Index identifies the top metro areas for home buyers seeking an appreciating housing market and appealing lifestyle amenities.” (Wall Street Journal)
  6. Amazon Slated to Overtake Walmart as the Largest Retailer in the U.S. “Walmart's not the only retail giant in town anymore. In fact, one market research study found that Amazon is on track to overtake its Arkansas-based competitor in terms of gross market value within the next few years. A study from Edge by Ascential calculated that Amazon's gross market value will reach $631.6 billion by 2025, a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 14% between 2020 and 2025.” (Business Insider)
Hide comments

Comments

  • Allowed HTML tags: <em> <strong> <blockquote> <br> <p>

Plain text

  • No HTML tags allowed.
  • Web page addresses and e-mail addresses turn into links automatically.
  • Lines and paragraphs break automatically.
Publish