Yat-Pang Au, the CEO of multifamily management company Veritas Investments, spoke to me recently from his hotel room in Nashville, where he was attending the Pension Real Estate Association conference. It had been more than a year since news broke that the company defaulted on a $448 million loan secured by more than 60 properties in San Francisco, where it was once the city’s largest apartment landlord. Then, earlier this year, Brookfield Properties and Ballast Investments took ownership of the 2,165-unit portfolio, effectively taking over the title of largest apartment owner. Now, Veritas is ..read more

The corporate headquarters relocation pipeline from California to Texas was a well-worn story during the pandemic’s early days. The relocation of numerous Silicon Valley companies into the Lone Star State became a point of significant pride for Texans. Recent reports show corporate headquarters relocations have notably cooled. With the dust settled on major moves within the past few years, an analysis of these relocations shows how much Texas and other states gained. However, the complete picture of corporate headquarters relocations is a bit more nuanced. CBRE recently analyzed U.S. corporate ..read more

Passive House. LEED Platinum. Living Building Challenge. These are some of the most stringent building standards that exist in the world at the moment, and they are increasingly being eyed by the real estate industry as a way to meet both carbon emissions rules and ESG goals. Every time a building is completed that has highly-publicized sustainable elements, city officials applaud, the industry and media take notice, and the project’s developer and designer may even earn awards. But what about afterward?  Once the project’s been completed and either residents or office workers move in, do ..read more

Many commercial real estate firms breathed a collective sigh of relief when the Securities and Exchange Commission released the final version of its climate disclosure rule on March 6th. The regulations are significantly changed from the proposed version and are not as strict. Notably, the agency will not require the tracking and reporting of Scope 3 emissions, which are the carbon emissions in a company’s supply chain. A company directly generates Scope 1 emissions, and Scope 2 emissions are generated by electricity, heat, cooling, and other services a company uses. Both of these emissions ca ..read more

The concept of furnished apartments is nothing new. Corporate housing has been around for ages, and in many college towns, fully furnished apartments are a common feature of student housing properties. But ever since the pandemic led to the rise of digital nomads, people who work remotely from wherever they want while traveling freely, the concept is getting a new look with additional twists. Sentral is a growing company in the space, and while the multifamily operator manages both traditional and unfurnished apartments, it also offers renters in some of its locations the ability to rent out t ..read more

Multigenerational living is making a comeback in America, and the real estate industry is taking notice. The living arrangement had long declined in the U.S., reaching a low point in the 1970s. Since then, multigenerational living has steadily risen. The share of the U.S. population in multigenerational homes more than doubled between 1971 and 2021. Now, about one in five Americans lives in a multigenerational home. As housing costs have risen, more families are pooling resources to afford buying a home or making rent payments in expensive markets. Adult children who live with their parents ma ..read more

When it comes to office real estate, building classes matter more than ever. The amenities, location, and quality of space between Class A office buildings and Class B and C properties can have a huge impact on the demand for a workspace right now. But what about trophy buildings? These are buildings that are either advanced, new, or famous enough to be considered the cream of the crop in their market. It’s a designation that one would think would make it easier for landlords to lease up their space. However, beyond the top-tier offerings that trophy buildings offer, does the trophy tag alone ..read more

Every city wants to turn empty offices into much-needed housing. But the ugly truth is that without financial assistance, most office-to-residential conversion projects don't pencil out financially. Because of this, we investigated incentive programs introduced in sixteen jurisdictions across the U.S., ranging from Chicago to Boston, Washington, D.C., and San Francisco, as many cities and […] Unlock unlimited access to all our premium content Start your trial for just $1/month. Cancel anytime. Subscribe Already a subscriber? Sign in below: Username Password Remember Me     Forgo ..read more

In a time when office fundamentals can’t seem to get any worse, a large real estate company posting significantly positive numbers certainly stands out. The California-based Irvine Company, a real estate investment firm, is one of those rare few. Operating mostly in California markets but with properties in Chicago and New York City as well, the company has managed to keep its office portfolio leasing numbers north of 90 percent over the last year, as many cities—including the ones Irvine operates in—continue to experience high office vacancy rates. The company attributes its success to updati ..read more

Environmental, social, and governance investing was mostly uncontroversial for years. Most investors liked supporting ‘sustainable’ policies, and while there were opposing viewpoints, it was not a hot-button issue. The George Floyd protests changed this dynamic, as many companies vigorously supported social and environmental justice during a tumultuous 2020 summer of marches, riots, and hashtags. A backlash against some ESG principles has followed, especially in the United States, and the formerly ho-hum topic of impact investing has become yet another flash point in the culture wars. Conserva ..read more