Real Estate Daily News Buzz Oct 7, 2016
Real Estate Daily News Buzz is designed to give news snippets to readers that our (yet to be award winning) editors thought you could use to start your day. They come from various business perspectives, real estate, government, the Fed, local news, and the stock markets to save you time. Here you will find the headlines and what the news buzz of the day will be.
Thursday, the Dow Jones industrial average fell 12.53 points, or less than 0.1 per cent, to 18,268.50. The S&P 500 inched up 1.04 points, or 0.05 per cent, to 2,160.77. The Nasdaq composite slipped 9.17 points, or 0.2 per cent, to 5,306.85.
U.S. benchmark crude oil rose 61 cents to close at $50.44 a barrel in the New York, its first close above $50 a barrel since June 23. Brent crude, the international standard, rose 65 cents to close at $52.51 a barrel in London. Wholesale gasoline edged up less than 1 cent to $1.50 a gallon, heating oil rose 1 cent to $1.60 a gallon and natural gas rose less than 1 cent to $3.05 per 1,000 cubic feet.
Is It Time for Real Estate Investors to Hit the Panic Button? That’s What They Want You to Think “Is an epic real estate crash coming? If that question made your pulse quicken, read on. I’m amused by self-appointed “economists” who come out with dire exhortations in the media to garner attention. There are many talented, colorful people who receive media coverage because they elicit strong emotional responses. Typically they are ‘talking their book,’ that is, deliberately supporting their strategy by encouraging the mass investor to follow their trades, investments or positions.” (The Street)
World finance leaders seek to address anti-trade backlash — World finance leaders say they must do more to deal with a growing anti-trade backlash, which they fear could worsen already sluggish global growth prospects. How to deal with the attacks on globalization, featured in the Donald Trump’s U.S. presidential campaign and in the vote in Britain to leave the European Union, is a top agenda item at the fall meetings of the 189-nation International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde told reporters Thursday that IMF officials “see growth as too low for too long and benefiting too few.” (Washington AP)
Atlanta and Houston Real Estate Firms Merge, Plan New REIT “Cousins Properties Inc. of Atlanta has completed its merger with Houston-based Parkway Properties Inc. the companies announced. Stockholders of both companies approved the merger in August. Their common stock now trades under Cousins’ symbol, CUZ. The combined company will be based in Atlanta. Its Houston-based assets will be put into a publicly traded real estate investment trust, or REIT, called New Parkway, which will be based in Houston.” (Houston Chronicle)
US claims for jobless aid drop to lowest since mid-April — The number of Americans seeking unemployment benefits last week felt to the lowest level since mid-April, another sign that workers are enjoying job security despite sluggish economic growth. The Labor Department said Thursday that weekly applications for jobless aid slid by 5,000 to a seasonally adjusted 249,000. The less volatile four-week average dropped 2,500 to 253,500, lowest since December 1973. Overall, 2.06 million Americans are collecting unemployment checks, down more than 7 per cent from a year ago. (Washington AP)
Is Real Estate Finally Rolling Over? “Amid all the epic financial bubbles that have emerged in the past few years, real estate has been a bit of an afterthought. Still, the action in hot market trophy properties has been pretty bubbly. And now the run may be ending. London penthouses are sitting empty due to Brexit uncertainty. Vancouver condos aren’t selling because of recent taxes imposed on foreign buyers. And in the US some formerly red-hot markets are heading south.” (Seeking Alpha)
Average US 30-year mortgage rate unchanged at 3.42 per cent — Long-term U.S. mortgage rates didn’t move this week, remaining at their lowest levels since mid-July as a lure to prospective homebuyers. Mortgage giant Freddie Mac said Thursday the average for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage was unchanged from last week at 3.42 per cent. The benchmark rate is down from 3.76 per cent a year ago and close to its all-time low of 3.31 per cent in November 2012. The 15-year fixed-rate mortgage, popular with homeowners who are refinancing, stayed at 2.72 per cent. (Washington AP)
Mall of America Takes a Stand Against Shopping on Thanksgiving “Mall of America, the nation’s largest shopping mall anchored by Macy’s, H&M and others, has taken a stand against the growing trend of Thanksgiving shopping and will be closed on the turkey feast this year. The center, based in Bloomington, Minnesota, has been open on Thanksgiving since 2012. But mall officials told The Associated Press it wants to offer workers time with their families. The mall will re-open at 5 a.m. on the Friday after Thanksgiving.” (New York Post)
Airlines cancel hundreds of flights as hurricane hits US Airlines cancelled hundreds of flights for Thursday and planned more cancellations for Friday as Hurricane Matthew hit the Florida coast with high winds and heavy rain. The Fort Lauderdale airport shut down on Thursday morning, and the Orlando airport expected to do the same by nighttime. Before 2 p.m. Eastern time, flight-tracking service FlightAware.com reported that 1,500 Thursday flights within the U.S. had been scrapped. FlightAware said airlines had already cancelled 1,300 more flights scheduled for Friday.
Real Estate Adds Diversification, But How Should You Invest? “Real estate has a low correlation to stocks and bonds. Because it’s a lagging economic indicator — it rises and falls well after the rest of the economy — it moves differently than stocks or bonds. What’s more, real estate markets are unique. The factors that can sink home prices in one market can have no bearing on another, though not always. ‘Global real estate is an enormous part of the global economy, so it should have a role in an investor’s portfolio,’ said CFP Daniel Kern, chief investment strategist with TFC Financial Management in Boston.” (CNBC)
Walmart to Slow New Store Growth, Invest in Remodels and Online “Walmart gave a lackluster profit outlook for next year, and said it will slow new store openings as it invests in remodels and digital initiatives. The chain on Thursday outlined its plans for the next several years ahead of a meeting with investors. In a big change for a company whose growth has been fueled by aggressive store expansion, Walmart going forward said it will rely more on comp sales and e-commerce growth to drive the top line. Although the retailer is pulling back on new store growth, it plans to increase investments in e-commerce, technology, store remodels and other customer initiatives.” (Chain Store Age)
Airbnb’s San Francisco Showdown May Set Rules for Gig Economy “Airbnb Inc. has a message for cities that try to enforce rules that crimp its couch-surfing style: See you in court. The world’s fourth-most valuable startup is testing a legal strategy against its hometown that may be a template for sharing-economy firms to fend off regulation. Because it operates on the internet, Airbnb argues, it can’t be held responsible if users skirt local laws. Airbnb sued San Francisco in June after it enacted a measure barring home-sharing platforms from collecting booking fees from hosts who haven’t registered their units with the city.” (Crain’s New York Business)
The NYC Developers Who Landed on the Forbes 400 “It’s that time of year again — Forbes once again issued its annual list of the 400 wealthiest people in the United States. Over the past year, some of New York’s real estate titans have brought home even more bacon, while others haven’t been quite as lucky. While Donald Trump’s net worth, at $3.7 billion, is $800 million less than it was last year, the Related Companies’ Stephen Ross (who tops the developer list) went from having a net worth of $6.7 billion to $7.1 billion, taking him to the 58th spot on the list.” (The Real Deal)
Deutsche AM Bags Big Industrial Portfolio “Deutsche Asset Management’s portfolio just got a lot bigger—3.3 million square feet bigger, to be precise. The global corporation’s real estate investment business recently acquired a 19-property national industrial portfolio from International Airport Centers. Acting on behalf of an institutional investor, Deutsche AM went directly to Perlmutter Investment Co., investment advisor to IAC, to orchestrate the transaction.” (Commercial Property Executive)
