Urbanexus Update - Issue #53
Urbanexus Update - Issue #53
Please scroll down for the weekly compilation of analysis, reporting and opinion about real estate and community development. Some links may lead to material that is behind a paywall.
Trying to make bigger better
JLL (NYSE: JLL) and HFF (NYSE: HF) have entered into a definitive agreement for JLL to acquire all outstanding HFF shares in a cash and stock transaction valued at approximately $2 billion. Chicago-based JLL, a giant in the commercial real estate industry with a total market cap of approximately $7.4 billion, is a professional services firm that specializes in real estate and investment management. Dallas-based HFF is a full-service commercial real estate financial intermediary.
Investment decisions
CalSTRS boosts real estate allocation target
The California State Teachers Retirement System (CalSTRS) intends to lift the current 12% allocation to real estate to 13%. There is greater significance to this than a 1% change might suggest.
Three rules for data-driven real estate decisions
Fundamental to developing a strategy that leverages data effectively is recognizing the gradients of data analysis. Per Eric Willett of RCLCO There is a difference between incorporating data in daily activities and driving maximum value.
Metropolitan areas and neighborhoods
Metro Monitor 2019 — www.brookings.edu
An analysis from the Brookings Institution of how the economies of the 100 largest U.S. metro areas are performing.
Maps reveal how transit and geography can shape a city Rail, roads, and real estate have played a role in the physical form of cities from Los Angeles to Lagos, Nigeria.
How richer neighborhoods drive educational inequality A new study shows that growing up in an affluent community brings “compounding privileges” and higher educational attainment—especially for white residents.
Housing
Zoning laws block housing — fee.org Zoning laws are making homeownership unaffordable. The biggest barriers to reforming land-use regulation are the vested interests preventing such reforms at a local level.
Funds for kickstarting affordable housing
A shortage of affordable homes for workers and families at all income levels across the country calls for innovative solutions. Over the past decade, a variety of public-private loan funds have developed to kick-start construction and preservation of affordable housing. This report by Lizzy Mattiuzzi of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco breaks down how these funds fit into the process of developing and preserving affordable housing and shares lessons for those who are considering starting or investing in a fund.
FHA wants to reduce risk in its mortgage portfolio
The federal agency that insures mortgages for first-time home buyers is tightening its standards, due to concerns that it is allowing too many risky loans to be extended.
Leadership
Ethan Penner is the Founder and Managing Partner of MREC Management, LLC. He is a recognized pioneer in the field of real estate finance with a 35-year career marked by filling voids and responding to unseen or poorly understood opportunities. Over his career he has been involved in more than $30 billion of mortgage originations. Most notably, he is credited with being the primary driver in the creation of the Commercial Mortgage-Backed Securities market while at Nomura Securities, for which he received broad recognition including being named one of the U.S. Real Estate Industry’s 100 icons of the 20th century.
Regulation versus whimsy
Meet the Flintstone house, now declared a ‘public nuisance’ — www.nytimes.com The town of Hillsborough, Calif., has sued its owner, the media mogul Florence Fang, to force the removal of dinosaur statues and other renovations to the property.
Around the world
Land lost, families uprooted as Myanmar pushes industrial zones Place is a news and information website designed to shed light on the many issues revolving around land and property rights.