Month: April 2020

Video: PwC Partner Mitch Roschelle Discusses Coronavirus Impact on Economy, Commercial Property

The is significant and growing international concern with regard to the potential human and economic impact of coronavirus, also referred to as COVID-19. Mitch Roschelle, Partner withPricewaterhouseCoopers , joins America’s Commercial Real Estate Show to talk about how markets may react and in turn how commercial real estate might be impacted.

Video: Miami developers Perez, Karmely, Defortuna discuss economy, dealing with coronavirus

In this video prominent MIami area developers Jon Paul Perez of The Related Group, Edgardo Defortuna, and Shahab Karmely of KAR Properties discuss dealing with coronavirus with Amir Korangy of The Real Deal. Among the topics discussed are the things that most keep the awake at night, i.e. their biggest concerns, how they plan to move forward on…

Miami’s Small, Boutique Office Market Could Be Coronavirus-Resistant

The year was off to a sweet start for the Miami office market: 100K SF of positive absorption focused in downtown Miami and Brickell, much of that driven by move-ins of WeWork and Industrious, according to JLL. Icahn Enterprises moved into the penthouse in the new Milton Tower trophy office property at 16690 Collins Avenue in Sunny Isles Beach. The average…

US hotel occupancy inches down to 21%

The hotel industry’s nightmare continued last week as occupancy nationwide dipped to a meager 21 percent. The country’s occupancy rate for the week ending April 11 was one point worse than a week ago and 70 percent lower than a year ago, according to the hospitality data firm STR. Revenues per available room, or RevPAR, declined nearly 84 percent from…

Non-traded real estate investment trusts limit withdrawals amid investor rush to retrieve cash

Fund managers for non-traded REITs are limiting withdrawal amounts to maintain some liquidity and avoid having to sell assets at a loss (Credit: iStock) Thousands of people who poured billions of dollars into non-traded real estate investment trusts are now discovering that taking money out is a little more complicated. Many fund managers are limiting how much cash…

March retail sales plunge is worst on record

Last month saw the largest one-month drop in sales in three decades of record-keeping. March was the worst month for U.S. retailers on record. Sales dropped a stunning 8.7 percent from February as the coronavirus pandemic caused governments to close non-essential businesses, unemployment to skyrocket and millions to hunker down…

‘Pretty Catastrophic’ Month for Retailers, and Now a Race to Survive

“Total sales, which include retail purchases in stores and online as well as money spent at bars and restaurants, fell 8.7 percent from the previous month, the Commerce Department said Wednesday. The decline was by far the largest in the nearly three decades the government has tracked the data. Even that bleak figure doesn’t capture the full impact of the sudden…

Miami bankers work to pull out of economic slide, plan ahead

The effects of Covid-19 have reached far and deep, spanning the globe and impacting individuals and businesses, governments and organizations of all types and sizes. But while the hurt is universal, albeit of varying severity, how successfully localities recover from what many are calling the greatest crisis of our lifetime will depend on a variety of factors. Key to that…

Processing small business loan program should get smoother

While the distribution of government aid to small businesses has been cumbersome in Florida, the process should be running more smoothly in the coming days, said the top executive from Florida Bankers Association. Alex Sanchez, the CEO and president of the organization, said bankers have been working around the clock to serve businesses in need of the loan…

Two key recovery acts

Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act The $2 trillion CARES Act offers help to businesses, individuals, federal agencies, state governments and local governments. Here are some of its provisions: • Paycheck Protection Program: The $350 billion program encourages businesses to keep workers employed by providing government-backed loans from…

“Be very careful what you ask for,” top broker warns borrowers seeking relief

As thousands of commercial real estate borrowers look for help to make their monthly mortgage payments, they should do so cautiously. “We’re advising our borrowers, be very careful what you ask for,” warned Ackman Ziff Real Estate Group president Simon Ziff. “Make sure you can back it up and have a need for it, or you may find yourself in special [servicing]…

Knotel says one-third of members want rent relief

Roughly one-third of Knotel’s members are looking for a break on rent, the flex office space company disclosed Tuesday. As Knotel grapples with its own financial woes, the figure sheds light on the dilemma facing co-working firms: a sudden loss of income from tenants, including many small businesses, as the coronavirus pandemic keeps people home across the…

Starwood Gets $76M Loan For New Miami Beach HQ

When Starwood Capital Group moved its headquarters from Greenwich, Connecticut, to Miami Beach in 2018, it bought prime South Beach property from Avis, the rental car company. It has now secured financing to build a six-story headquarters for itself. A Starwood subsidiary has secured a $76.16M construction loan from Citizens Bank to build a 144K SF building…

Live Nation wants to renegotiate rents

Live Nation Entertainment is live music’s dominant force and among the biggest occupiers of space in the events business. But the company is now looking to make big spending cuts, including renegotiating on $2.3 billion in lease deals. The Beverly Hills-based company said in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing Monday that it hammered out a new…

Retail landlords are creating a blacklist of tenants who aren’t paying rent

While mom-and-pop retailers may be feeling the economic pain of coronavirus the hardest, some bigger companies have decided to forgo rent payments as well. But landlords aren’t buying it. Owners of malls and shopping centers have been putting together a “blacklist” of financially stable tenants that haven’t met their April rent obligations, the Wall Street…

How Will Lenders Respond to COVID-19?

Financial institutions face unprecedented measures in unprecedented times April 1 was a key milestone on everyone’s mind—the first date that many payments would be due in a COVID-19-weary world on lockdown. In the weeks leading up to that date, the Federal government negotiated, passed, and signed a monumental $2 trillion relief package. The post How Will…

Don Peebles: A leader’s role “is to look at things in balance”

Flattening the curve by keeping most of the country at home is what medical experts believe will allow the U.S. to recover from the coronavirus pandemic. But according to developer Don Peebles, doing so “with blinders on” will create an economic disaster that could be riskier than getting people back to work. “There are 17 million new unemployed Americans…

Only 20% of Related Group’s commercial tenants paid rent in April

Only 20 percent of the Related Group’s commercial tenants paid their rent in April, executive Jon Paul Pérez said during The Real Deal’s webinar on Friday. “If you get 20 percent you’re sort of happy and jumping up and down,” he said. About 90 percent of Related’s multifamily tenants paid rent, which Pérez said is much higher than the 50 percent the company…

Q&A – Commercial Real Estate Leasing – Remedies

Q.  If a tenant breaches the lease:  Are there any implied remedies available to the landlord, such as the acceleration of rent? Is there a limitation on the landlord’s ability to exercise self-help? Is there a common form of an eviction proceeding and, if so, what is the typical length of time for the proceeding? Are there specific mechanisms for expedited remedies…

Q&A – Commercial Real Estate Leasing – Rent and Security Deposits

Are there any legal restrictions on:  How much rent the landlord may charge? Whether certain operating expenses (or other additional rent) may be passed through to the tenant? Maximum Rent Under Florida law, there are no restrictions on the rent a landlord may charge on commercial leases. Operating Expenses There is no limit to the operating expenses…

Mounting bills could mean a wave of restaurant closures this summer

Many restaurant owners who’ve been forced to close their businesses because of the coronavirus pandemic wonder if they’ll be able to hold out long enough to re-open. Bills are mounting and many worry they won’t be able to pay up even with support through the federal government’s massive $2 trillion stimulus package, according to Bloomberg. That could mean…

Miami Industrial Real Estate Quarterly Market Report 1st Quarter 2020

The Miami industrial market starts Q1 2020 with a 4.7% vacancy rate and $12.53 per SF average (gross) lease rate. There was 1.4 million SF of positive absorption over the past 12 months, with deliveries totaling 3.7 million SF in the same time. Two significant deals include leases signed by Home Depot with a move-in date of September 2020 with 1.1 million SF in the…

Office Tenants of All Sizes Are Asking for Rent Relief. Some Institutional Owners Are Offering Them Deferrals

With the COVID-19 shutdown interrupting business operations across a large swaths of industries, office tenants have begun seeking rent relief. For example, Kenneth S. Fields, Los Angeles attorney at law firm Greenberg Glusker, says his office tenant clients are asking if they can stop paying rent, and landlord clients are seeking advice on what to do if tenants stop paying.

Money, forbearance, and evictions: Landlords want it all from Washington

Trade groups representing the biggest residential players have asked the federal government for an array of relief measures, while also requesting the right to keep evicting renters. In an April 7 letter addressed to the White House Coronavirus Task Force and Congress, a dozen landlord and developer groups called for the creation of an emergency rental assistance…

South Florida contractors on edge over threats of shutdown

Gov. Ron DeSantis (Credit: Joe Raedle/Getty Images) Construction firms across South Florida are on edge over threats of a shutdown. Earlier this week, Miami Beach shut down construction sites for failing to follow social distancing guidelines, issuing stop work orders for two commercial projects. At the same time, the city of Miami issued an emergency order…

Missed loan payments to approach Great Recession levels: Fitch

Missed loan payments will approach Great Recession highs, a new report finds (Credit: iStock, Getty Images) Missed loan payments are expected to approach Great Recession levels in the third quarter of 2020, part of the continuing fallout from a U.S. economy that remains virtually frozen. The hotel and retail sectors are expected to have the highest delinquency…

South Florida property owners offer free rent in April, May

Some South Florida landlords are going beyond rent deferments and case-by-case deals, as the majority of tenants struggle to make rent this month and next. William Kakon, who owns 14 retail and multifamily properties in Miami-Dade and Broward counties, is forgiving rent for his commercial and residential tenants in April and May, plus creating a fund for families…

These US real estate titans made Forbes’ billionaires list

From left: Donald Trump, Jane Goldman of Solil Management, Jorge Perez of Related Group, Stephen Ross of Related Companies, Jeff Greene, Brian Chesky of Airbnb, Sam Zell of Equity Group Investments, Jeff Sutton of Wharton Properties with Adam Neumann, former WeWork CEO. More than 2,000 people — and hundreds of U.S. real estate titans — cracked Forbes…

Weiss Group scores $21M loan for mixed-use project near MIA

David Eyzenberg and a rendering of Towers at Blue Lagoon Weiss Group of Companies scored $21.3 million in bridge financing to build a mixed-use, multifamily and hotel project at the Blue Lagoon office complex near Miami International Airport. The financing will replace an existing bridge loan and fund predevelopment costs for the Kobi Karp-designed Towers at…

Eyzenberg & Co. Arranges $21.3M Construction Loan for Mixed-Use Development in Miami

Eyzenberg & Co. has arranged a $21.3 million construction loan for the Towers at Blue Lagoon, a planned mixed-use development featuring a multifamily community and hotel space. The borrower and developer, the Weiss Group of Cos., will build Phase I of the project to include 428 multifamily units across two buildings. The property will offer studio…

Fed ramps up lending with new $2.3 trillion program

The Federal Reserve is injecting an additional $2.3 trillion in loans to bolster a frozen economy, which continues to be on lockdown as the spread of the coronavirus accelerates. Thursday’s financing announcement came as the U.S. Department of Labor reported that another 6.6 million Americans filed jobless claims last week. That figure was down from the adjusted prior…

Norman Braman, Jorge Perez and homeowner groups sue to stop Edgewater jai alai facility

Billionaire auto dealer Norman Braman and developer Jorge Perez have teamed up with two Miami homeowner groups to file a lawsuit aimed at short-circuiting a settlement agreement between the city of Miami and the owner of Magic City Casino. It’s their latest effort to derail plans for a jai alai fronton on land in Miami’s Edgewater neighborhood…

Hotels Are Being Impacted by COVID-19. What Can Owners and Lenders Do to Limit the Fallout?

COVID-19 is causing tangible disruption throughout the hotel industry. Daily decreases in travel and cancellations of meetings lead to quick drops in occupancy, followed by hotel pricing decreases (often irrational) that further exacerbate market jitters. A hotel market rate and occupancy shopping app, MSight, estimated downtown Los Angeles hotels had a…

Pandemic may bring the end of the office as we know it

If and when you return to your office after the novel coronavirus pandemic, you’ll probably notice some differences. Upon entering your building, the doors may open automatically so you don’t have to touch the handles. Before you board your elevator, you might tell the elevator where you’d like to go, rather than pressing the many buttons within the elevator.

In this video prominent MIami area developers Jon Paul Perez of The Related Group, Edgardo Defortuna, and Shahab Karmely of KAR Properties discuss dealing with coronavirus with Amir Korangy of The Real Deal. Among the topics discussed are the things that most keep the awake at night, i.e. their biggest concerns, how they plan to move forward on developments currently in process, etc. They also discuss how the length of the shutdown of the economy may exacerbate the effect.

The is significant and growing international concern with regard to the potential human and economic impact of coronavirus, also referred to as COVID-19. Mitch Roschelle, Partner withPricewaterhouseCoopers , joins America’s Commercial Real Estate Show to talk about how markets may react and in turn how commercial real estate might be impacted. Among the topics discussed are the disruption to the supply chain, changes to forward earnings guidance by publicly traded companies, reconsidering GDP expecations versus PwC’s recent projections in its Emerging Trends report, and finally his summary thoughts – spoiler, it is a mixed bag – on the impact on commercial real estate.

Procacci sells two office buildings near Dolphin Mall for $29M

Procacci Development Corp. sold two office buildings in Sweetwater for a combined price of $29.3 million. Boca Raton-based Procacci Development sold the buildings at 11430 Northwest 20th Street and 11410 Northwest 20th Street, near Dolphin Mall, to New York-based Innovatus Capital Partners, according to records. Procacci Development sold the 88,484-square-foot…

Innovatus Capital Partners Buys Miami Office Portfolio

Innovatus Capital Partners has acquired Dolphin Corporate Park, a two-building Class A office portfolio in Doral, Fla. Cushman & Wakefield Capital Markets negotiated the deal on behalf of the seller, Procacci Development Corp. The deal comes days after Cushman & Wakefield facilitated the $510 million refinancing of a historical Manhattan skyscraper. The 164,509…

Musician Pitbull, Miami Mayor Use Paramount Miami Worldcenter to Signal 10 p.m. Curfew

With Miami under a citywide curfew since March 27 to limit the spread of the novel coronavirus, musician Pitbull and Miami Mayor Francis Suarez have teamed up to help Miami residents know when 10 p.m. strikes and the city’s curfew goes into effect. The curfew ends at 5 a.m. daily. The side of the recently delivered Paramount Miami Worldcenter, a 700-foot condo…

Video: CCIM Chief Economist K.C. Conway on the Impact of Coronavirus on Economy, Commercial Real Estate

The Federal Reserve reduced rates by 50 basis points, and the stock market is soaring, well, today. The media is scaring everyone about the coronavirus. Numbers of events are being canceled. Companies are lowering their earning expectations. Should we be concerned? In this video from America’s Commercial Real Estate Show, CCIM Senior Economist…

Miami Beach orders 57 Ocean and Hotel 18 construction sites to shut down

5775 Collins Avenue and 1775 James Avenue The city of Miami Beach issued stop work orders at 57 Ocean and Hotel 18’s construction sites, saying they failed to comply with safety regulations during the Covid-19 emergency period. Miami Beach Associates LLC was issued the stop work order for the 57 Ocean project at 5775 Collins Avenue, after an inspection on Monday.

Not so fast, vultures: Multifamily among better “food groups” poised to weather pandemic

Lightstone’s David Lichtenstein would like to make one thing clear: Not all property classes are in immediate peril. “Read my lips: You are not going to see distress in multifamily,” he said during a TRD Talks Live panel discussion on Tuesday. “Everybody listening who thinks ‘this is my opportunity to sharpen my claws. I’m a hedge fund, and I’m going to find…

How the coronavirus could change the office of the future

When the coronavirus crisis subside, offices could do away with hot-desking (Credit: iStock) Most people around the globe have wondered what long-term impacts the coronavirus pandemic could have on their jobs, the economy, and culture. The verdict is very much out on all those fronts, but some in the real estate industry are already planning for a big change…

Mortgage forbearance surged on April 1: report

As tenants struggle to pay rent, homeowners are struggling to make mortgage payments. The rates of mortgages in forbearance surged April 1 to 2.66 percent from 0.25 percent at the start of March, according to Bloomberg. It comes as Moody’s Analytics’ chief economist expects that up to 30 percent of homeowners may stop making mortgage payments.

Hotel occupancy rate across US drops to 22%

The coronavirus pandemic continued to batter the U.S. hotel market in the first week of April. The national hotel occupancy rate plunged to 21.6 percent for the week ending April 4, a nearly 69 percent drop from the same time last year, according to data from hotel research firm STR. The rate for the last week of March was 22.6 percent. For the top…

Troubled RedSky lists Miami Design District portfolio

RedSky Capital’s entire Miami Design District portfolio, encompassing 14 buildings with 125,000 square feet of space, is hitting the market as the troubled Brooklyn-based development group seeks to sell much… The listed properties include 1, 10, 28, 35, 40, 50, and 56 NE 40th Street, 3925 and 3995 N Miami Avenue, and 19, 21, 45, 53, 55, 75, and 81 NE 39th Street.

Early April sees 15% drop in rent-paying nationwide: report

Only 69 percent of tenants paid rent in the first five days of April — a 12-point drop from the same period last month. From March 1-5, some 81 percent of tenants paid at least some rent, and the figure was 82 percent in the initial days of April a year ago over the 13.4 million rental apartments tracked by several data firms, the National…

Starwood scores $76M construction loan for Miami Beach HQ

Starwood Capital Group scored a $76 million loan to build its new headquarters in Miami Beach. The investment firm, led by Barry Sternlicht, secured the loan from Citizens Bank for its planned six-story office building at 2340 Collins Avenue, records show. The company received its notice of commencement from Miami-Dade County in September to start…

Boom’s over, but industrial brokers keep busy

Soon after Gov. Andrew Cuomo put New York’s strict social distancing rules in place, industrial broker Thomas Donovan’s phone stopped ringing. It was a sudden shift in what had been one of real estate’s hottest sectors. But in recent days, Donovan said, folks have begun sniffing around again for space. “We have seen people that we’re speaking to say…

Silicon Valley heads to Wynwood’s office market

Wynwood has changed quickly from the early 2000s, when it was home to a number of galleries that came alive the second Saturday of the month, to an established tourist destination with an active nightlife scene. Today, it has residents and short-term rentals, restaurants, breweries and bars, and hotels on the way. Now, it’s also emerging as a new office submarket in…

Rent In The Time Of Coronavirus: Tips for CRE Landlords and Tenants

Proactive advice for landlords and tenants who are navigating the COVID-19 crisis As soon as the coronavirus began its relentless march around the world, one phrase was repeated by world leaders, experts, local officials, and neighbors: “We’re all in this together.” In many ways, that sentiment applies as we all try to negotiate the economic impacts of the COVID-19…

State accelerates Signature Bridge and related projects

Miami’s notoriously crowded streets have become the road less traveled with the sweeping impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. With most businesses, stores and shops shut down and social distancing being preached and practiced, the highways and byways are seeing meager traffic in comparison with the bumper-to-bumper of not so long ago. The governor…

Miami looks at trolley reorganization after coronavirus siege lifts

The reworking of the countywide transportation network is in its third phase, and the City of Miami administration has weighed in on the proposed realignment of its trolley system, albeit without much force. In an interoffice memo, signed by City Manager Art Noriega and directed to Mayor Francis Suarez and commissioners, the administration makes…

A quarter of Prologis’ tenants request a break on rent. Most won’t get it

Hamid Moghadam Even the booming industrial real estate sector isn’t immune from the effects of the pandemic. Prologis, one of the biggest logistics real estate companies in the world, announced this week that nearly a quarter of its tenants are seeking rent relief. On average, 24 percent of tenants are requesting 69 days of rent relief, Prologis chief…

Congress fixed tax code “retail glitch” and gave real estate a tax windfall

SReal estate owners can thank a fix to the “retail glitch” — rectified in the $2 trillion economic bailout — for a new tax windfall. The economic stimulus package that the federal government passed last month corrected what is widely considered to be a drafting error from President Trump’s 2017 tax cuts, which allowed businesses to write off the costs…

Coronavirus distress is “opportunity of the century” for real estate investors

As the coronavirus crisis sends property values tumbling, funds focused on opportunistic and distressed-asset investments sense a greater opportunity than that seen during the 2008 financial crisis. (Credit: iStock) As the coronavirus crisis sends property values tumbling, real estate investors sense an even greater buying opportunity than the 2008 financial crisis.

WeWork sues SoftBank for scrapping $3B bailout

It’s official — WeWork is suing its biggest backer. And this probably won’t be the last time. The embattled co-working giant is alleging that SoftBank wrongfully pulled out of an agreement to buy $3 billion worth of WeWork shares. That infusion would have helped stabilize WeWork as it worked to rebound from its failed IPO, as it faces a wave…

Must do’s and need-to-knows for SBA stimulus loans

The coronavirus pandemic has thrown a wrench in the world’s economy, specifically impacting small businesses, where day-to-day operations have been stunted, if not completely halted.  The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, is an economic aid stimulus package which was formulated by the federal government and signed into law to…

Related’s Blau on tenants with cash: “It’s their obligation to pay”

With a $97 billion real estate portfolio, Related Companies faced a reckoning this month. But after bracing for a major loss of rental income, Related CEO Jeff Blau said “the results have been pretty good so far.” Read more Landlords brace for impact of pandemic With curfews and public assembly restrictions, what will happen to malls? For US retailers…

SoFla prepares for flood of foreclosures and evictions after governor’s freeze

With hundreds of Floridians losing their jobs on a daily basis and the economy on crutches, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis suspended evictions and foreclosures for a period of 45 days. But experts say it is far from enough. The move, announced on Thursday, allows homeowners and renters to stay in their homes if they can’t pay their mortgages or rent due to Covid-19.

Peebles Files $585M Suit Calling ‘Shenanigans’ On Miami Project That Slipped Away

Developer Don Peebles is suing a business rival, accusing him of conspiring with Miami city officials to ice Peebles out of a project in Miami’s historically black neighborhood, Overtown. His lawsuit hints at backroom dealing and alleges criminal activity by one city Community Redevelopment Agency. But the defendants say Peebles backed out of the deal voluntarily…

Real estate and retail shutdowns drive economic slump

The economic slowdown that is throttling the U.S. has seen economic output drop by three-quarters in some industries, including food services and arts and entertainment. In the tri-state area of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut, the coronavirus-caused slowdown is most acute in the real estate and retail sectors, according to the Wall Street Journal, citing a…

How will hotels and retailers survive until their customers come back?

Most stores throughout the state, such as Bergdorf Goodman, are closed indefinitely by executive order as the coronavirus pandemic ravages New York City. By early March, Terminal 1 of John F. Kennedy Airport, one of the busiest airports in the country, was nearly a ghost town. The novel coronavirus was sweeping East Asia and spreading around the world…

Bernie Sanders calls for rent, mortgage freeze

Presidential candidate Bernie Sanders is calling for a freeze on rent and mortgage payments as part of the next federal relief package. Sanders urged Congress on Friday to suspend monthly expenses, including rent, mortgage payments, medical debt and consumer debt collection, for four months, as part of a list of priorities he believes legislators should include…

Nation’s biggest department stores could run out of funds in a month: Goldman Sachs

While experts debate how long the economy will be shut down, some major department stores and apparel retailers have as little as one month’s worth of funds to tough it out. Major department stores like Kohl’s, Nordstrom and Macy’s could run out of capital within a month, according to a liquidity “stress…

Tenants Should Be Fully Transparent With Financials To Get Fairest Deal When Renegotiating Leases

This week, the No. 1 topic among real estate professionals everywhere is how rents will play out this month and beyond. “The goal here is sum zero,” said Vagabond Group CEO Avra Jain, known for trendy, adaptive reuse projects and affordable housing initiatives. If a landlord gets paid by tenants, then he or she should in turn pay mortgage obligations, she…

AvalonBay partners with Mast Capital on mixed-use project near Coral Gables

AvalonBay Communities purchased a stake in a mixed-use apartment project near the Collection luxury car dealership in Coral Gables. Property records show an affiliate of AvalonBay paid $12.9 million for the property at 3811 Shipping Avenue in Miami. Mast Capital is a joint venture partner with AvalonBay, according to a source. Coconut Grove-based Mast Capital…

Flex office startup Industrious slashes a third of its workforce

Industrious is the latest flexible-office startup to make significant cuts to its workforce. The company laid off 90 employees, or 20 percent of its total staff, in addition to reducing hours and imposing furloughs on another 10 percent, Commercial Observer reported. Most of the cuts were in the company’s design, real estate development and finance departments.

Florida governor freezes evictions and foreclosures for 45 days

Gov. Ron DeSantis suspended evictions and foreclosures for a period of 45 days in Florida in an emergency order issued late Thursday. DeSantis is providing the relief to single-family homeowners throughout the state, as people struggle to pay their bills during the pandemic. The state’s unemployment system has become overwhelmed with filings from…

Thousands of CRE borrowers call on banks for debt relief

The number of commercial real estate borrowers who requested debt relief during the escalation of the coronavirus outbreak in the U.S. has lurched to 2,600, with borrowers against hotel and retail assets among the most asking for help, one ratings agency found. The borrowers represent some $49.1 billion of mortgage loans, according to new findings from Fitch Ratings…

What the $2 trillion stimulus does for real estate

“In moments of crisis,” the legendary developer Big Bill Zeckendorf was fond of saying, “one’s world tends to become simplified.” Even those with big dreams (pretty much every successful real estate professional) get down to the basics: survival. This is a crisis unlike any we’ve ever seen. The world has stopped. “It’s the first time ever that we’ve had a chain of supply…

WeWork asks landlords to cut rent bill as SoftBank abandons bailout

SoftBank is abandoning plans to buy $3 billion of WeWork shares from investors, a major blow to the company as it struggles to stabilize during the pandemic. The announcement was made to a board committee Wednesday evening, according to The New York Times. WeWork’s former CEO, Adam Neumann, is among the shareholders who will no…

Developer Moishe Mana is getting into the dairy business

Real estate investor and developer Moishe Mana is adding a new business to his portfolio: dairy production. Mana’s Mana Saves McArthur was named the winning bidder of Dean Foods’ South Florida facilities, including the McArthur Dairy plant at 6821 Northeast Second Avenue in Miami’s Little Haiti neighborhood, and distribution centers in West Palm Beach and…

Pelosi proposes SALT rollback in next stimulus

Ahead of another stimulus package to address the coronavirus pandemic, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is reportedly considering a retroactive rollback of the state and local tax (SALT) deduction cap. The $10,000 cap went into effect in 2018 as part of President Donald Trump’s 2017 sweeping tax overhaul. A Democrat-led effort to repeal it in 2019 was unsuccessful.

“They don’t deserve rent”: Tenants weigh rent strikes as landlords plan for the worst

Tenants and landlords are preparing for what to do when tenants do not pay rent this month. (Credit: iStock) April rent checks are due today, but tenants in cities across the U.S. say they won’t pay, either due to economic hardship or to increase leverage for political demands. In California, Illinois, New York and Missouri, organizers are urging tenants to pay…

Miami hotels see 60% drop in room rates

Hotels across the country — including the Plaza Hotel in New York and Chateau Marmont in LA — have shuttered and laid off and furloughed staffers. (Credit: Keith Birmingham/MediaNews Group/Pasadena Star-News via Getty Images; iStock) The picture for the country’s hotels continued to grow ever worse last week, as more than three quarters of the nation’s…

Sergio Pino re-opens construction site after workers test positive for Covid-19

Days after shutting down his construction site after workers tested positive for Covid-19, developer Sergio Pino said the project is open again. Pino, who has been pushing for a shutdown of construction in South Florida, said there is a limited crew on the site at 850 LeJeune Road, near Miami International Airport. About 40 workers are on site out of about 220…

Carlos Mattos’ family buys Hialeah assemblage for $8M

The family of Colombian businessman Carlos Mattos bought an assemblage in Hialeah for $8 million. Nisa Navarro LLC, controlled by Isabella and Nicolas Mattos, purchased seven parcels at 802 East 25th Street from 4th Avenue Developer LLC, led by Daniel Abreu, records show. The property totals 58,362 square feet, equating to a price of $137 per square foot…

The Federal Reserve reduced rates by 50 basis points, and the stock market is soaring, well, today. The media is scaring everyone about the coronavirus. Numbers of events are being canceled. Companies are lowering their earning expectations. Should we be concerned? In this video from America’s Commercial Real Estate Show, CCIM Senior Economist K.C. Conway discusses the effects of today’s coronavirus pandemic on the economy and commercial real estate. K.C. is always a reasoned commentator. This discussion is no exception.