Urbanexus Update - Issue #58
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.
Real estate investment
REITs continue to rise with a return of 2.44% in March and 17.35% in Q1 2019. After a weak start to the year, large-cap REITs outperformed in March.
If you learn absolutely anything worthwhile while working in real estate, it’s the No. 1 rule. It’s all about location, location, location.
Housing in the USA
Housing affordability reducing housing share of GDP — eyeonhousing.org With the release of the first estimate of first quarter 2019 GDP growth (3.2% growth rate), housing's share of gross domestic product (GDP) continued a downward
Increasing homebuilder oligopoly distorts the housing market — seekingalpha.com The number of large homebuilders in any given area has decreased significantly since the housing bubble. This increasing concentration has led to market pricing
White homebuyers in back neighborhoods
Across the USA, the arrival of white homeowners in places they’ve long avoided is jolting the economics of the land beneath everyone.
The people want to live in mixed use neighborhoods
Nearly four-fifths (78 percent) of U.S. adults would consider residing in environments that offer housing, workplaces, shopping, dining and recreation within close proximity, according to the report, titled Mixed-Use Properties: A Convenient Option for Shoppers.
Amazon again
Amazon’s next big outpost could come to a city that wasn’t even among the finalists for the nationwide HQ2 search last year. Bellevue, across Lake Washington from Amazon's major presence in the City of Seattle, is the birthplace of the 24-year-old behemoth, In recent months, this city has garnered the kind of interest from Amazon many cities crave. A projected 3.4 million square foot real estate footprint in Bellevue is enough to rival Amazon’s planned HQ2 presence near Washington, D.C.
Population growth
Counties in south and west lead USA in population growth Counties with the largest numeric growth are all located in the south and the west, with counties in Texas taking four out of the top 10 spots.
A law school village in San Francisco
UC Hastings selects Greystar as master developer — rebusinessonline.com
The University of California Hastings College of the Law (UC Hastings) has selected Greystar Real Estate Partners LLC as the master developer of its planned on-campus academic village in downtown San Francisco. Charleston, S.C.-based Greystar plans to build the $450 million project in two phases.
Architecture and urban design
When the old Penn Station was demolished, New York lost out — www.nytimes.com Today’s version is humiliating and bewildering.