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.
Wednesday, the Standard & Poor's 500 index climbed 11.29 points, or 0.5 percent, to 2,457.59. The Dow Jones industrial average picked up 27.06 points, or 0.1 percent, to 21,892.43. The Nasdaq composite gained 66.42 points, or 1.1 percent, to 6,368.31 as technology companies rose for the third day in a row. The Russell 2000 index of smaller-company stocks added 7.64 points, or 0.6 percent, to 1,391.32.
Wholesale gasoline rose another 10 cents, or 5.7 percent, to $1.88 a gallon. Benchmark U.S. crude lost 48 cents, or 1 percent, to $45.96 a barrel in New York. Brent crude, the international standard, fell $1.14, or 2.2 percent, to $50.86 a barrel in London. Heating oil added 1 cent to $1.67 a gallon. Natural gas lost 4 cents to $2.94 per 1,000 cubic feet.
City’s General Election Set - Now that the City of Tucson's primary election is over, the general election matchups in November are set. The open seat in Ward 3 will pit Democratic winner Paul Durham against Independent Gary Watson. There is no Republican in the race to replace retiring Democratic incumbent Karin Uhlich. The only other contested primary race yesterday was among the Green Party in Ward 6, where Mike Cease is leading Michael Oatman to advance to the general election against incumbent Democrat Steve Kozachik and Republican Mariano Rodriguez, who both ran unopposed in the primary. Ward 5 Democratic incumbent Richard Fimbres is up for re-election and will retain his seat, having faced no challenger in the primary, and he also has no competition in the general election in November. The City Clerk's Office still has about 470 ballots to verify before making the results official. The final tally is expected by Friday afternoon.
Bond Oversight Commission has first meeting on Prop. 101 - The Bond Oversight Commission (BOC) will hold its first meeting tonight to discuss the half-cent sales tax (Proposition 101) voters approved in May. Now known as Tucson Delivers, the new tax is expected to generate an estimated $250 million, with $100 million being used to restore, repair, and resurface city streets, and $150 million for vehicles, equipment, and facilities for the Tucson Police and Tucson Fire departments. The BOC will oversee the roads portion of the tax. Tonight's meeting will be to formulate recommendations to the Pima County Transportation Advisory Commission on which city residential streets are in need of the most repair. Major city road repairs were mapped before the election. The meeting begins at 5:30 p.m. at the Parks Administration Building, Mesquite Room, 900 S. Randolph Way.
World Care Accepting Donations for Hurricane Victims - Tucson-based World Care is continuing collection efforts for victims of Hurricane Harvey in Houston, Texas and other affected areas. The nonprofit is teaming with a number of businesses and agencies in town to serve as collection sites. Needed items include personal hygiene supplies, household cleaning supplies, and more. A complete list can be found at the link below. All supplies need to be new and unopened. Donations can be dropped off at World Care, 1925 W. Gardner Lane, or at one of the other collection sites. You can also make online monetary donations to World Care’s Emergency Relief program (link below).
Tumamoc Hill to expand hours next week - Tucsonans soon will be able to hike Tumamoc Hill during the daytime. Starting next Tuesday, Sept. 5, the new hours for hiking will be 4 a.m.-10 p.m. every day. The hill currently is closed to walkers between the hours of 7:30 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. The change is billed as an effort to allow the community to enjoy the hike up the hill, while also preserving the site's scientific, natural and cultural integrity. Wire cables are being installed along the path and top of the hill to prevent damage to sensitive areas and keep people from wandering beyond the walking path. Pets, bicycles, and smoking on Tumamoc still will be prohibited. Tumamoc is an 860-acre ecological reserve and U.S. National Historic Landmark owned and operated by the University of Arizona in partnership with Pima County.
Summer movies in the park series concludes Friday - Looking for some family entertainment on Friday night? Movies in the Park, a Tucson summer staple since 2003, returns to Reid Park for the final time this season with a free showing of Finding Dory. Residents are invited to bring blankets and chairs to enjoy the movie at the DeMeester Outdoor Performance Center, 920 S. Concert Place (22nd Street and Country Club Road). Activities begin at 6 p.m. with face painting, glitter tattoos, live music, jumping castles, arts and crafts, giveaways, and more. The movie begins at dusk (approximately 7:45 p.m.). Popcorn, soda, and food will be available for purchase. The Movies in the Park summer program is hosted by Cox Communications and the Southern Arizona Arts and Cultural Alliance.
Southern Arizona Arts and Cultural Alliance: https://bit.ly/1ECKUm8
Market Thinks Fed Could Hold Off on Rate Hikes for Another Year—At Least “Unless something dramatic happens, the Federal Reserve won't be hiking interest rates again until well into 2018, according to current market predictions. Fed funds futures — contracts that indicate where the market thinks the central bank's benchmark rate will be — point to no further moves until at least next June, and possibly a good deal later. Futures indicate that the Fed will approve just one increase between now and the end of next year.” (CNBC)
Hotel Building Boom Stalls as Demand Plays Catchup “Hotel developers are slowing down new U.S. construction projects after years of rapid growth, a result of tighter lending conditions and a ballooning supply of rooms in large markets. Though consumer demand remains healthy, hotel construction spending was down 2% to $27.5 billion in June at a seasonally adjusted annual rate from December, according to Census Bureau data, after more than tripling since bottoming in 2011.” (Wall Street Journal, subscription required)
NYC Real Estate Is Addicted to Foreign Cash. The Withdrawal Symptoms Aren’t Going to be Pretty “When Barry Sternlicht talks, the real estate industry listens. Earlier this month, the Starwood Capital chief used his pulpit to address a subject New York players often like to downplay: the city’s increasing dependency on foreign capital even as geopolitics is being upended. ‘If you are having a fight with our administration, you are just not going to invest here,’ Sternlicht said. ‘They are very quick to shut down the capital flows… It has to do with politics.’ Sternlicht was talking about Qatar, whose government has been at odds with the Trump administration for months. But he could have easily been referring to China, or the European Union.” (The Real Deal)
Despite Initial REXMLS Loss, Blockchain Has Arrived for Real Estate “Now, there’s a new player in real estate technology raising funds and distributing tokens backed by ethereum (ETH), a blockchain-based currency. In an effort to create a decentralized real estate data and listings platform, REXMLS just launched their first token sale. You might think this sounds like a real estate data game changer or maybe a creative way to raise money. So is REX just the next penny stock pump and dump scheme or is there a real value and market fit for this new technology?” (Forbes)
Allegiant Air Ventures Into Real Estate “Low-cost airline Allegiant Travel Co. will venture into real estate with a sprawling resort on Florida’s Gulf Coast, even as hotel development slows nationwide amid a glut of rooms. Still, investors are intrigued: Allegiant shares rose 1.5% Tuesday after the company said it will launch an all-inclusive resort company, Sunseekers Resorts.” (Wall Street Journal, subscription required)
Memorial Sloan Kettering Leases Out Entire New Building “Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center has leased the entire new medical building under development by Joy Construction and Maddd Equities at 330 E. 62nd St. Along with a 48-year lease, the cancer hospital, which has tentacles throughout the neighborhood, has options to purchase the more than 100,000-square-foot building as well as the right of first refusal.” (New York Post)
Harvey Puts a Short-Term Squeeze on Regional Banks with Texas Operations: Analyst “Raymond James says regional banks with Texas exposure will face some short-term difficulties from the damage caused by Hurricane Harvey, but lending will pick up into next year because of the rebuilding efforts. There will be several ‘major areas of impact. The first being business interruption, several banks have closed branches and that can continue for the next few days or next few weeks,’ the firm's banking analyst Michael Rose said in a CNBC "Power Lunch" interview Tuesday.” (CNBC)
Most Sectors Near Peak, But Crash Unlikely: RCLCO “Over the next 12 months or so, RCLCO expects a continuing march toward ‘peak’ conditions, as inventory remains at or near equilibrium with demand. ‘At this stage in the cycle, significant increases in rents, occupancy, and prices may be difficult to achieve.’ With little impact from the Trump administration’s policies, capital market conditions remain similar to those at EOY 2016. On the equity side, “moderating operating fundamentals appear to be neutralizing pressure on asset prices.” Foreign capital transactions appear to be on pace to roughly equal those in 2016.” (Commercial Property Executive)
JFK Airport Lot May Transform into New Shopping Center “An 11-acre site near JFK airport now used for parking is being pitched to supermarkets and shopping center tenants. Long owned by Linx Industries, a family company led by principle Arik Kislin, the site straddles both Queens and Nassau County on the east side of Rockaway Boulevard. The parcel is just southeast of the road’s intersection with Brookville Boulevard.” (New York Post)
How Commercial Real Estate Firms Are Contributing to Houston Storm Relief “Commercial real estate firms across the nation are pursuing relief efforts to support those impacted by the storm and rescue workers, law enforcement officials and volunteers on the ground. From financial donations to providing temporary housing and offices for those displaced by floods, here are 28 commercial real estate firms that have joined the fight against this natural disaster.” (Bisnow)