Originally published on February 3, 2021, by Brielle Scott for NAIOP Research Foundation.

Many municipal approval processes tend to be opaque and provide developers with limited information.

To help address these issues, the NAIOP Research Foundation commissioned Distinguished Fellow C. Kat Grimsley, Ph.D. cantab, director of the Masters in Real Estate Development Program at George Mason University, to create a Development Approvals Index to evaluate the transparency, consistency and accountability of municipal permitting and inspection processes.

In a session at the 2021 Chapter Leadership and Legislative Retreat, Grimsley shared her experience developing the tool, an overview of its structure and variables, and her goals for its use as it continues to be refined. The Index consists of an Excel spreadsheet that end-users can complete based on available information for the permitting and inspection processes. It can be used for all product types.

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Originally published by Will Parker on January 27, 2021 for Washington Street Journal.

A collapse in apartment rent collection during the pandemic is forging one of New York’s most unlikely political alliances.

The Real Estate Board of New York, the property industry’s main lobbying group, has joined with New York’s Legal Aid Society, a nonprofit association that advocates on behalf of tenant rights.

While these two groups are usually antagonists—and they are currently on opposite sides in a federal lawsuit over rent control—the pandemic has created common ground. Too many New York tenants can’t pay rent right now, which is making it harder for landlords to pay back their loans and causing tenant debt to pile up.

North Carolina is the #8 state in the U.S. for contributions to state GDP created by retail/entertainment real estate development. Overall, the construction and development of office, industrial, warehouse, and retail created and supported 67,041 related jobs and contributing $8.99 billion to the state’s economy in 2020 (the most recent data available).

The data is from “Economic Impacts of Commercial Real Estate, 2021 U.S. Edition,” published annually by the NAIOP Research Foundation.

New development and ongoing operations of existing commercial real estate buildings in the United States – office, industrial, warehouse, and retail – generates significant economic growth at the national level:

• Created and supported 8 million American jobs in 2020.
• Contributed $1.01 trillion to U.S. GDP.
• Generated $338.1 billion in salaries and wages.

“Many factors point to a commercial real estate rebound in 2021,” said Thomas J. Bisacquino, president and CEO of NAIOP. “Obviously, we dealt with several unknowns and unexpected challenges in 2020. The pandemic accelerated trends already progressing in real estate. The warehouse sector has flourished as e-commerce demand intensified; office space has been impacted by tenant demand, as remote work options expand and companies rethink space needs; and the retail sector struggled as shoppers preferred to buy online. Nonetheless, commercial real estate construction and development sectors remain solid, valuable contributors to the U.S. economy, and we have a bright future as the economy continues to improve.”

Originally published by the NAIOP Research Foundation on February 3, 2021.

The NAIOP Research Foundation has published its annual Economic Impacts of Commercial Real Estate, 2021 U.S. Edition.

Commercial real estate development and operation of existing buildings generated the following economic benefits in 2020:

• Supported 8.0 million American jobs (a measure of both new and existing jobs).
• Contributed $1.01 trillion to U.S. GDP.
• Generated $338.1 billion in salaries and wages.

Key measures impacting economic growth in 2021 include:

Next week! Get a deep dive into the 2040 Comp Plan during this free Lunch with a Leader as we unwind the key areas of concern for the commercial real estate industry. The 2040 Comp Plan for the City of Charlotte will be the vision for our City, driving future growth and future policies for development. Larry Shaheen (The McIntosh Law Group) and Madeline Keeter (REBIC) will provide a brief background and overview of areas of concern for our industry. This is a perfect session to learn more so you can reach out to the City and elected officials with information about the impacts on commercial development. You are invited to submit questions in advance here.

Our Leaders

Madeline Keeter Government Affairs Manager REBIC			Jason Moore (Moderator) Business Development Rodger’s Builders			Larry Shaheen Attorney The McIntosh Law Firm

Register Here

Upcoming Events

Discussion with Council Member Ed Driggs

Join fellow NAIOP Charlotte members for this Lunch with a Leader to hear from Council Member Ed Driggs, District 7. Charlotte’s 2040 Comp Plan will have a dramatic impact on the future of commercial real estate development. Members will have an exclusive opportunity to meet with Council Member Ed Driggs to have an open-ended discussion, moderated by Childress Klein’s Chris Thomas, about the happenings at City Council and well as the Plan’s impacts on commercial development, our community, and our members.

The City of Concord is updating their UDO – Read more

Kannapolis is updating their UDO – Read more

The registration deadline is January 27

The deadline to register as a Mentee and have the opportunity to meet one-on-one with CRE industry leaders is next Wednesday! Register today to take advantage of this exclusive opportunity to make important connections and benefit from the knowledge, guidance, and ideas shared by our program mentors.

This year's program features 80+ available sessions (and counting!).

Your NAIOP membership must be renewed by the end of January otherwise you will be removed from the program.

Meet Our Mentors!

Originally published by Linda Strowbridge on January 5, 2021, for NAIOP.org.

In “The Evolution of the Warehouse: Trends in Technology, Design, Development and Delivery,” authors Steve Weikal and James Robert Scott detail the industry advances, consumer trends and emerging technologies that are driving a rapidly growing sector. Although their work at the MIT Real Estate Innovation Lab regularly immerses both Weikal and Scott in the topic, working on the report by the NAIOP Research Foundation exposed them to a striking array of future business opportunities within the warehouse segment.

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Originally published by Cameron M. Trefry, RA, LEED AP for NAIOP's Winter 2020/2021 Issue.

This sector of industrial was booming even before the pandemic, and future demand is expected to soar even higher.

In the age of one-hour package shipments, the infrastructure needed to serve a growing on-demand culture is scrambling to keep up. This has taken on even greater significance amid the COVID-19 pandemic, which forced millions to stay home for months.

According to Coresight Research’s U.S. Online Grocery Survey 2020, online grocery sales are expected to increase by about 40% this year due to the pandemic. That’s after a 22% increase in 2019.
The strong growth in e-commerce is a main reason that the industrial real estate sector is a bright spot in the U.S. economy, as developers and tenants continue to construct millions of square feet of warehouses and logistics centers.

Within the industrial sector is a unique class of buildings that maintain the continuity of the “cold chain,” which is crucial for the integrity of U.S. food and pharmaceutical logistics. While market factors are driving rising demand for cold buildings, there are also practical reasons behind the need for this asset class. The existing cold building stock in the U.S. is becoming antiquated, with an average age of 34 years, according to CBRE research.

Originally published by Brielle Scott on January 12, 2021, for NAIOP.org.

In a recent webinar, the authors of the NAIOP Office Space Demand Forecast provided insights and data from the latest report covering the fourth quarter of 2020, including overall economic trends and factors influencing demand, and their predictions for when the office sector could recover in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The prior economic expansion was the longest on record; job growth was strong, income growth had been accelerating since 2017, and recent tax laws provided valuable incentives for the commercial real estate industry, said Tim Savage, Ph.D., report author and clinical assistant professor, NYU SPS Schack Institute of Real Estate.

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Check out a newly added resource page with quick links to the 2040 Comp Plan, UDO, Charlotte Moves, and more. This evolving information will have a dramatic impact on the future of Charlotte’s commercial real estate development. NAIOP Charlotte continues to monitor and inform members about developments in these initiatives and members are encouraged to get involved and provide a voice for commercial real estate as these policies unfold.

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Register today for the opportunity to meet one-on-one with accomplished professionals in the CRE industry through this program that is exclusively for NAIOP Charlotte Developing Leaders. The deadline to register as a Mentee is January 27, 2021.

Your NAIOP membership must be renewed by the end of January otherwise you will be removed from the program.

Meet the Mentors!

Program Timeline:

• January 27, 2021: Deadline to register as a Mentee
• February 2021: The session-booking process will open
• March - June 2021: Meetings with Mentors

• Go to the program website: https://mentoring.naiop.org/B5CEkQt7
• In the menu at the top of the page, click MENTEE REGISTRATION FORM
• Enter the email address to which this message has been sent
• One of the following will apply to you:
1. If you were a mentee before and your email address is the same, use the password you created before to finish logging in. The "forgot password" feature is available if needed
2. If you were a mentee before but your email address has changed, you will need a new Login - please follow the prompts to register and set a password
3. If you were not a mentee in a previous program, please follow the prompts to register and set a password
• Reminder: Check the box indicating you have read and agree to the Mentee's Terms & Conditions.

• A verification email will be sent to you (security protocol) so please watch your spam folder. It is important to click the link in this verification email to finalize and login for access to your registration form
• Lastly, return to the mentorship site, click MENTEE REGISTRATION FORM again...log in with your email address and password...then you will find your form ready for you to complete

A bipartisan group of senators unveiled details of their coronavirus relief package yesterday, representing lawmakers’ latest push to move an aid bill before year’s end. The proposal is comprised of two separate bills: the first contains roughly $750 billion for education, unemployment benefits, vaccine distribution, and other funds, while the second provides $160 billion in state and local aid, as well as liability protections for businesses. The latter provisions have proven contentious and were frequently cited as key reasons for holding up earlier negotiations. 

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Originally published NAIOP Fall 2020 Issue by Daniel Pessar.

Recent clarifications didn’t significantly change the law, but investors should be aware of these modifications.

The 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act introduced tax benefits to incentivize investment in specially designated zones (Qualified Opportunity Zones, or QOZs) in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and five U.S. territories. The Opportunity Zone laws generated buzz because, among other benefits, they allowed qualified projects held for at least 10 years to exclude capital gains upon sale.

After more than two years, it is time to consider the state of the law, the response of the investment community and some of the ways Opportunity Zone investment activity might develop in the years ahead.

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Originally published on December 2, 2020, by NAIOP.

Recruiting and retaining top talent has become essential in today's highly competitive marketplace.

Is your salary and bonus package competitive? Find out with the 2020 NAIOP/CEL Commercial Real Estate Compensation and Benefits Reports.

These valuable reports enable commercial real estate businesses to stay current on salaries, bonuses, and benefits for professionals in executive and entry-level positions. The reports include submissions from over 300 companies; salary, bonus, incentives, and benefits for up to 200 positions; and data from 100,000 distinct jobs in the office/industrial, retail and residential property sectors.

Originally published in REBIC's November 30, 2020 Newsletter.

Join the City of Charlotte on December 8th, 2020 for their next Ambassadors & Strategic Advisors Virtual Meeting. This meeting will further discuss the draft Charlotte Future 2040 Comprehensive Plan. As they enter Phase 4 of the planning process, your voice is more important than ever.

Please use one of the links below to register for one of the meeting times. Both meetings will be the same, but we want to offer two options to fit with your schedule. After registering with your name and email, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.

MEETING #1

When: December 8, 2020, 11:30 AM Eastern Time (US and Canada)
Click HERE to register in advance for this meeting.

Originally published on behalf of NAIOP Research Foundation on November 19, 2020. 

Negative Absorption of Office Space Expected to Continue in Short Term, Trend Positive Beginning Q2 2021

The NAIOP Research Foundation has published the NAIOP Office Space Demand Forecast for Q4 2020.

Key Takeaways:

• Given the continued challenges facing the U.S. economy, office net absorption is forecast to be negative 18 million square feet in Q4 2020 and negative 10 million square feet in Q1 2021.
   
• Growth in net absorption is forecast to resume in Q2 2021, and the total net absorption over the period from Q2 2021 to Q3 2022 will exceed negative absorption from the recession, resulting in overall gains in absorption over the next two years.
   
• The largest office-using industries have been more insulated from the effects of the pandemic than the economy as a whole, but their shift to remote-work arrangements has diminished demand for office space.
   
• Multiyear lease terms have mitigated the effects of reduced occupancy on vacancy rates, which have risen to 14% in the third quarter. Vacancy rates are likely to continue to rise through the end of 2020 as more leases come up for renewal.

View the full report.

Wrap up an unforgettable 2020 with NAIOP Charlotte! This year’s virtual Annual Meeting will feature a panel of industry leaders providing market updates and overviews on commercial real estate in Charlotte. How are we ending the year? What is 2021 shaping up to look like? Come celebrate during this unusual year, elect the 2021 NAIOP Charlotte Board (slate is below), and connect with friends and colleagues!

Our Panelists

Nate Doolittle LandDesign Phil Kuttner LITTLE

Brendan Pierce Crescent Communities Scott Wilson Childress Klein Properties

Board Nominations

Registration

Register Here

Questions

If you have questions, please contact the NAIOP Charlotte office at [email protected].

Originally published by Lisa Pendergast in NAIOP's Fall 2020 Issue.

SOFR, the new U.S. dollar replacement rate, differs in crucial ways from its longstanding forerunner.

The London interbank offered rate, or LIBOR, is a critically important number in the world of finance. It is the basis for hundreds of trillions of dollars in contracts around the world. These include everything from complex derivatives to home mortgage loans.

According to calculations from the Federal Reserve, the estimated exposure for U.S. dollar LIBOR alone is approximately $200 trillion. Despite that large number, the underlying transactions that help determine LIBOR are a mere fraction of this amount. The rate is primarily based on submissions by certain banks based on what they estimate they would be charged to borrow from one another.

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