Real Estate Daily News Buzz – August 18, 2015

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.

Monday, the Dow Jones industrial average rose 67.78 points, or 0.4%, to 17,545.18. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index climbed 10.90 points, or 0.5%, to 2,102.44. The NASDAQ composite gained 43.46 points, or 0.9%, to 5,091.70.

U.S. crude for delivery in September fell 63 cents to close at $41.87 on the last day of trading for the contract. Brent crude for October delivery, a benchmark for international oils used by many U.S. refineries, fell 45 cents to close at $48.74 in London. The September contract for Brent expired Friday at $49.03. Wholesale gasoline fell 3.3 cents to close at $1.654 a gallon. Heating oil fell 0.3 cents to close at $1.555 a gallon. Natural gas fell 7.3 cents to close at $2.728 per 1,000 cubic feet.

More millennials stuck renting for years before buying home – Home ownership, that celebrated hallmark of the American dream, is increasingly on hold for younger Americans. Short of cash, burdened by student debt and unsettled in their careers, young adults are biding time in apartments for longer periods and buying their first homes later in life. The typical first-timer now rents for six years before buying, up from 2.6 years in the early 1970s, according to a new analysis by the real estate data firm Zillow. The median first-time buyer is age 33 — in the upper range of the millennial generation, which roughly spans ages 18 to 34. A generation ago, the median first-timer was about three years younger. (AP)

NAHB: US homebuilder sentiment improves in August – U.S. homebuilders grew slightly more optimistic about the housing market in August, putting their confidence at levels last seen a decade ago during the debt-fueled housing boom. The National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo builder sentiment index released Monday rose this month to 61, the highest level since November 2005. The reading was 60 in both June and July. Any reading above 50 indicates more builders view sales conditions as good, rather than poor. (Reuters)

Strategic Hotels Hires JPMorgan to Advise on Options “Strategic Hotels & Resorts Inc., the owner of luxury resorts across the U.S., said it hired JPMorgan Chase & Co. to review options available to the company including a possible sale.” (Bloomberg)

Report: Bezos Blasts Reports of Abusive Amazon Culture “Jeff Bezos, CEO and founder of Amazon.com, is reportedly blasting an article in the New York Times that accuses the retailer of having a ruthless and even abusive workplace culture. According to CNBC, in an internal memo (excerpt below), the article is inaccurate and goes beyond ‘isolated anecdotes.’” (Chain Store Age)

J.C.Penney Is Coming Back As New CEO Takes Helm “J.C.Penney’s second quarter 2015 was a major improvement over the previous year. Same store sales increased 4.1%, gross margin improved 100 basis points and S.G. &A. expenses dropped $63 Million to $901 million or 31.3% of sales.  These are great results since they suggest that the company gained back some of its lost market share from Kohl’s and Macy’s in a tough, competitive quarter.” (Forbes)

Goldman Sachs Bets on Indian Property Developer Piramal Realty “Goldman Sachs Group Inc. is betting $150 million on a real-estate developer looking to expand in Mumbai, the financial capital of India.” (Wall Street Journal)

Investor Sentiment Strong as J-REITs Drive Japan’s Commercial Activity in Q2 “According to CBRE, the total value of real estate investment transactions (those worth at least JPY 1 billion) in Q2 2015 declined 28% y-o-y to JPY 674 billion. Of this, investments by J-REITs totaled JPY 340 billion (up 94% y-o-y), while those by overseas investors equaled JPY 80 billion (down 28% y-o-y), accounting for 50% and 12% of the total, respectively.” (World Property Journal)

JLL’s Newest Family Member “JLL continued adding to its service lines and boosting its full-service capital markets capability in the Americas with the acquisition of St. Paul, Minn.-based Oak Grove Commercial Mortgage L.L.C., known as one of the nation’s leading providers of debt financing for multi-family and seniors housing.” (Commercial Property Executive)

$800M Hotel Portfolio Lands on Servicer Watchlist “The $800 million Equity Inns Portfolio came under servicer surveillance this month due to potential safety issues found at some of the portfolio’s lodging properties, according to data from New York-based data firm Trepp.” (Commercial Observer)

The Next Untapped Market — Brooklyn’s Upper Floors “In a market this hot, even less-flashy properties are starting to look good. Brooklyn prices have climbed so high that previously marginal inventory, such as unused office space above retail locations, is increasingly seen as worth the cost and effort to renovate and market.” (The Real Deal)

Ground Zero for E-Tailer Storefronts is Right Here “With its small shops and charming streetscape, Armitage Avenue in Lincoln Park long has been a hub for urban retail. But these days, the 19th-century buildings are serving as a laboratory for a new generation of online merchants as they open physical stores.” (Crain’s Chicago Business)

Target Promotes CFO John Mulligan to Newly Created COO Role “Target Corp promoted Chief Financial Officer John Mulligan to the newly created role of chief operating officer, and appointed Express Scripts Holding Co’s CFO, Cathy Smith, as his replacement.” (Fortune)