Posted on October 24, 2017

Recruiting and retaining top talent has become essential in today's highly competitive marketplace.

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Posted on October 13, 2017

A recent survey conducted by construction management firm Structure Tone found green building is still a major market differentiator, and employee wellness is increasingly important to tenants. Structure Tone sent its “Client Sustainability Survey” to a nonscientific sample of corporate real estate and facilities management professionals. Questions centered on participants’ opinions on third-party certification systems like LEED, challenges to building green and the newer pressures of wellness and climate change in the built environment. Findings indicated that 62 percent of respondents agreed that LEED is a valuable market differentiator, but cost is the primary barrier to adopting sustainable building practices. Over 80 percent of the respondents consider employee wellness essential to their retention and recruitment; more than 50 percent reported they plan to seek external expertise to incorporate wellness into their buildings.

Posted on October 12, 2017

Amazon’s search for a second headquarters has North American cities scrambling for ways to attract the world’s fourth-largest corporation. However, jurisdictions, even those not in the running, should take their economic development cues from Amazon’s HQ2 Request for Proposals (RFP), according to Brookings Institution’s Amy Liu and Mark Muro. In a recent Harvard Business Review article, “What Amazon’s HQ2 Wish List Signals about the Future of Cities,” Liu and Muro’s advice to cities that want to attract high-tech industry is “not to just polish up branding and marketing materials and wait for the next Amazon-scale business attraction opportunity,” nor rely on assembling parcels and offering generous subsidies. Rather, cities need to examine the criteria outlined in the RFP and “ask whether they’ve done enough to build up the fundamental assets prized by innovative firms and industries.” Those assets include:

Posted on October 11, 2017

According to a report by the National League of Cities, U.S. cities’ revenue growth will shrink for the second consecutive year in 2017. The findings in “City Fiscal Conditions 2017,” based on a survey of finance officers from 261 cities, “signal a trend that was last seen in 2006 before the Great Recession.”

Posted on October 10, 2017

Is your 2018 salary and bonus package competitive? Find out with the 2017 NAIOP/CEL Commercial Real Estate Compensation and Benefits Reports.

Posted on October 9, 2017

The City of Concord invites the public to get the first glimpse into the policies and maps that will guide the development of the community over the next 10-15 years. The 2030 Land Use Plan public input session is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, October 10 CFA Village Suite 75 located at 280 Concord Parkway N.

Posted on October 6, 2017

According to a recent TechCrunch article, “VC Doors are Wide Open for Real Estate Startups,” seed and early-stage investment in real estate technology have increased by $100 million over the past 12 months. Cultural and demographic shifts along with rising property and rental prices account for the rising interest in startups.

Posted on October 5, 2017

A report by CBRE, “What’s Wrong with American Shopping Malls?” finds retailers with low-growth rates, such as department stores, occupy a majority of U.S. shopping malls’ gross leasable area compared to retailers with higher-growth categories such as restaurants and home furnishings. This disparity, according to CBRE, indicates malls should lease to different retailers to stay competitive.

Posted on October 4, 2017

By: Todd Burns

Posted on October 3, 2017

By: Richard R. Spore III

Posted on October 2, 2017

After months of discussions behind closed doors, a group of six policymakers is scheduled to pull back the shades this week – perhaps as soon as Tuesday – and put out an outline for comprehensive tax reform. After the outline is released, “the tax-writing committees are going to take feedback and input, and then they’re going to go produce their bills in the weeks ahead,” House Speaker Paul Ryan says.

Posted on September 29, 2017

Millennials, Gen-Xers and baby boomers have distinct demographic profiles and approach jobs, debt and their living situations differently, Pew Research Center senior researcher Richard Fry, Ph.D., tells GlobeSt.com. Fry will be presenting the session “Piecing Together the Population Puzzle” during NAIOP’s CRE.Converge conference in Chicago Oct. 10-12. The session will dive into the patterns and predilections of demographics, related economics and what it all means for CRE. We spoke with Fry about how millennials’ characteristics have changed over time, how debt influences their living-situation decisions and how Gen-Xers, millennials and baby boomers differ in their economic perspectives.

Posted on September 28, 2017

According to CBRE’s inaugural report on the U.S. medical-office market, the steady demand for and investor confidence in healthcare-related workspace indicates it may be a “resilient sector, able to weather economic downturns and political changes.” The age 65-and-over population – now accounting for the highest per-capita healthcare spending – will nearly double by 2055 and drive an increased need for medical office space. Some findings include:

Posted on September 27, 2017

A recent article titled “Power of the Ports” in Real Estate Forum magazine highlights the challenges and opportunities faced by U.S. ports in the wake of e-commerce demand and the Panama Canal expansion. Investors are increasingly drawn to ports – economic forecasters predict $155 billion in capital project investments over the next 5 years creating 1.6 million jobs. In 2014, U.S. coastal ports generated $4.6 trillion for the economy, accounting for 26 percent of U.S. GDP.

Posted on September 26, 2017

After a hurricane, the cost to rebuild and repair can run into the hundreds of millions. Construction firms are taking action, investing in resilient buildings that can withstand flooding and power outages from future natural disasters.

Posted on September 22, 2017

By: Brian Landes

Posted on September 11, 2017

A group calling itself the Coalition for Future Mobility – representing automakers, suppliers, smart transportation leaders and people with disabilities – is asking Congress to tell the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) that it’s time to change auto safety standards so they reflect the coming of self-driving cars. The measure has passed a House of Representatives committee.

Posted on September 8, 2017

Shoppers today have three main options when they’re looking to buy: Go to a brick-and-mortar store, shop online but pick up at a brick-and-mortar store, or purchase online and have the product delivered. In a report, “Bagged or Boxed,” JLL explains that “the way shoppers value time, touch and money drives on- or offline purchasing,” and predicts which businesses are well-positioned for future growth.

Posted on September 7, 2017

In its latest “U.S. Top Office Metros Snapshot,” Colliers reports that “fundamentals in the 10 major office markets in the U.S. largely remained solid during the second quarter.”