CPE’s January 2021 Must-Reads

Catch up on our most important stories, interviews, rankings and analyses from last month.

As is the case with a new year, we started 2021 by looking back at the trends, events and companies that shaped the real estate industry in 2020. The tallest new buildings of 2020, the places where office sales volume shot up last year, as well as the performance of net lease cap rates were on our radar in January. But a new beginning also brings along the opportunity to look ahead at what the new year has to offer. In a conversation with three commercial real estate experts, we discussed how they expect the market to perform in 2021. We also sat down with Avison Young’s Greg Martin to talk about what’s ahead for the office sector. Considering that commercial construction activity declined last year, we looked at how costs are likely to impact deliveries in 2021 and beyond, as well as where to find the best markets for commercial real estate development this year.

And with a new administration in the White House, the real estate industry has taken stock of President Biden’s agenda. Biden’s climate-focused executive order signed toward the end of the month could have deep implications for the industry, moving away from the previous administration’s climate regulation rollback measures.

As the number of COVID-19 cases throughout the country continued to rise in January, vaccine rollout is expected to play a significant role in economic recovery. According to an Integra Realty Resources report, vaccines could help office workers return to the physical office as early as the third quarter, while the industrial sector will be in recovery or expansion mode this year. In the last week of January, Google announced the opening of its office spaces as vaccination sites.

In a sign that 2021 is shaping up to be much brighter for transaction activity, the year kicked off with the closing of a few noteworthy deals and investment vehicles: Americold Realty Trust’s $1.7 billion acquisition of Agro Merchants Group, KKR’s $1.7 billion investment fund in the Asia Pacific, MedCraft Healthcare Real Estate and Cadence Healthcare Group’s $500 million medical office building investment platform.

Here are CPE’s must-reads for last month:

CPE Names 2020 Distinguished Achievement Award Winners

The 10th edition of the awards program honors the industry’s outstanding deals, projects and professionals. Read the eBook now!

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Podcast: Real Estate Sentiment Remains Negative, But Glimmers of Hope Appear

Although investor and occupier sentiment indices were improving by the end of 2020, expect a bumpy recovery, warn RICS economists. Tune in for more insights!

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Top Projects That Will Reshape Los Angeles

Construction activity hasn’t lost steam in L.A., where developers are moving ahead on massive mixed-use projects and infrastructure improvements that are transforming the city.

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Brookfield Property Partners Could Go Private in $5.9B Bid

Brookfield Asset Management intends to buy the remaining units of its real estate subsidiary.

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National Industrial Report – January 2021

Rents in the sector increased 4.8 percent last year, according to the first industrial survey by CommercialEdge.

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New York City Construction Activity Hits 8-Year Low

In its fourth-quarter construction activity report, the Real Estate Board of New York said much-needed infrastructure projects could make up for the decline in building.

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Will 2021 Bring Property-Tax Relief?

COVID-19, wildfires and civil unrest all threatened property values and tax revenues in 2020, notes Foster Garvey attorney Cynthia Fraser.

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Tech Tenants Inject Some Heat Into Tepid Office Leasing Market: CBRE

The industry was a standout in a year when total leasing volume for the 100 largest deals declined 32 percent.

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Global CRE Investment Activity Could Surge by 50%: Colliers

No less than 88 percent of survey respondents in the U.S. are planning their next real estate acquisition in the first quarter of 2021.

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Baltimore’s Port Covington Ramps Up After Financing Boost

The $5.5 billion project is kicking off vertical construction on more than 1.1 million square feet of mixed-use space.

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