Urbanexus Update - Issue #80
H. Pike Oliver compiles this weekly update of real estate and community development news. Please note that some links may lead to items that are behind a paywall.
Real estate transactions
A Black owned brokerage firm — shoppeblack.us
T. Dallas Smith & Company specializes in tenant and buyer representation services and has done over $15 Bn in business.
Streamlining residential real estate transactions
Ribbon simplifies purchasing a home by enabling homebuyers with an all-cash, guaranteed-to-close "Ribbon Offer" to present to sellers. Buyers are pre-approved for a purchase and home valuations are completed within 24 hours, making the offer experience fast, transparent and predictable.
Residential
On November 5, 2019, The Washington Center for Real Estate Research and Fannie Mae will convene innovators, housing leaders, and academics—in person and by livestream—to explore the intersection of housing, innovation, and tech
More than low mortgage rates needed for a housing rally Low rates don’t help much if you can’t get a loan or can’t afford a home.
Workforce housing and middle-income housing subsidies:
What does "workforce housing" really mean? This article reviews the topic of middle-income housing subsidies and associated political and economic implications.
Tiny home movement no longer tiny — www.visualcapitalist.com Tiny homes have grown into a multi-billion dollar industry—but is it just a millennial novelty, or a necessity for every generation?
Metropolitan dynamics
Measuring technology-driven economic development
The most prosperous American metropolitan areas have established footholds in innovative, technology-driven industries. But it’s difficult to identify the companies on the cusp of achieving significant breakthroughs. A new analysis seeks to fill this knowledge gap by better measuring the “economic development frontier” of U.S. metropolitan areas, analyzing Crunchbase data of high-tech startups using principles and methods advanced by the field of economic complexity.
Housing affordability and migration in the SF Bay Area
There has been both a drop in the population growth rate and a shift of growth to the Central Valley exurban metropolitan areas. This expansion was partly justified by the increase in “extreme commutes” – one way work trips of 60 minutes or more. This increased the Bay Area’s already abundant land supply, particularly with the addition of Modesto and Merced. The Central Valley Exurbs added a plain nearly 100 miles north to south and more than 40 miles east to west.
Planning and community development
Why do citizens fear real estate development? Benjamin Franklin coined the term about death and taxes being the only certainties in life. He neglected to add a third certainty, and that’s ironically change.
Leading planners and developers give tips on how to help housing developers move their projects forward. One important idea: Don't become clamshells during contentious public hearings.
Construction innovation
Trying to revolutionize construction
A company called Katerra wants to revolutionize the building industry. The firm’s mission is akin to a moonshot. Unlike virtually all other industries, which have leveraged technology to improve efficiency, construction is long overdue for productivity improvements. If successful, Katerra will bring cost savings to construction and help address climate change. It’s a big if.
Check out project details for Legacy on Park Avenue in greater Vancouver, BC. By bringing together cross- laminated timber (CLT) and conventional light-frame wood construction, the project breaks from more traditional rectilinear designs.
Environment and resilience
The greenest municipal building
A recently constructed municipal building in Santa Monica, CA, implements standards of sustainability called out in the Living Building Challenge.
Buildings are bad for the climate: here’s what Bill Gates thinks we can and should do about it.
Around the world
Slum dwellers to gain property rights
Almost 2,000 informal settlements in Delhi are set to be legalized under a law adopted by the government, which officials claim would give more than four million residents the right to own their homes in India's capital.