Restaurants Hit Hard during the Coronavirus Pandemic

Restaurants Hit Hard Amid Coronavirus Pandemic

5 hours ago

5 hours ago 0 0 5

You never see the lightning bolt that hits you. Coronavirus COVID-19 has taken us all by surprise and continues to baffle us with its strength and uncertainty. It’s difficult to write a post about the current climate because it changes daily, hourly even. Every day, we hear of communities requiring residents to shelter-in-place as more orders are announced, clarifying which businesses can operate and which must shutter their doors. Real Estate Recessions: Causes Real estate market recessions are NOT always the result of real-estate activities, such as overbuilding, loose underwriting or easy financing. Sure, there have been real estate recessions caused by these actions, but not always. Often there are non-real estate triggers—think of the mid-70’s oil embargo, the Iraq War, inflation in the 80’s and 9/11. These events usually expose underlying market weaknesses and cause the debt markets to lock up, resulting in sharp declines in real estate fundamentals.

CRE Bubble? Not If, But When

By Stan Sonenshine in Real Estate Cycle

2 months ago

2 months ago 0 0 160

Recent NREI article “Low U.S. Interest Rates Are Fueling a Bubble in Commercial Real Estate” claims it is not a matter of if the CRE bubble will pop, but when it will pop. I wholeheartedly agree with author Jay Rollins’ assessment and strategy. We’ve already seen investor push back on properties purchased post-2015 that are now back on the market. The current owners paid too much, thinking prices would increase, but in my opinion, the market has flattened—with further appreciation less likely than price deflation. The spreads between real estate yields and other financial instruments are historically low, and like Rollins, I have to believe that interest rates will increase sooner rather than later. I certainly don’t see them decreasing. The best opportunity for upside today is in new development, which has considerably more risk than buying existing assets. Historically, developers get caught by recession and rising interest rates. This time will be

Past the Value-Add Cycle in the Real Estate Cycle

Where is the “Add” in “Value-Add”?

By Stan Sonenshine in Atlanta Real Estate Development, Real Estate Cycle

1 year ago

1 year ago 0 0 3818

Late in the Cycle As discussed in previous blogs, I believe we are very late in the real estate cycle, a period which is characterized by fully priced assets and increasing ground-up development. Yet, I keep hearing the term “value-add” tossed around both by brokers trying to sell properties with low current yields and buyers convinced that rents will continue to increase and add value. I am skeptical. In addition, with fewer transactions occurring, lenders are becoming more aggressive by offering longer “interest-only” periods and equity funds are becoming lenders to make up for the lack of good buying opportunities. I find these trends troubling. This is the sort of activity that usually pushes the market over the edge. The Real Deal In a true value-add market, sellers are usually under pressure, rents are low, and vacancies are high. Buyers in this market are more risk-tolerant and are focused on

Are You Prepared for the Inevitable Real Estate Downturn?

By Stan Sonenshine in Real Estate Cycle, Real Estate Development, Real Estate Investment Strategies

1 year ago

1 year ago 0 0 723

Heading for a Correction? A BisNow article from earlier this year directly asks the question on everyone’s mind: “When is the correction going to hit?” In “From Bullish To Bearish: Tips To Prepare For The Inevitable Real Estate Downturn,” the author says not to worry so much about when it hits, but more so with how prepared you will be when it does. The article offers these four tips: Negotiate long-term leases Pursue Rehabs and Upgrades Stop Putting Off Maintenance Embrace Technology Stan’s Viewpoint For the most part, I agree with this article. I would add that the strategy for a given property really depends on the property’s current status. That status will dictate whether to sell (if a key lease has just been extended), upgrade (a longer-hold strategy) or refinance. I would caution this: If an owner is looking at new financing, the debt/value ratio and debt service coverage should

Current Real Estate Recovery Has Been Impacted by Shifts in Office

Crosscurrents Impact Real Estate Recovery

By Stan Sonenshine in Great Recesssion, Real Estate Cycle, Real Estate Recovery

1 year ago

1 year ago 0 2 711

My last blog “Not Your Standard Recession and Recovery” discussed how—due to the disruption in the financial markets—the most recent real estate recovery was anything but straightforward. In addition, this real estate recovery has experienced crosscurrents, which have made it even more unpredictable. These include the impact of global markets, technology disruptors, high construction costs and demographic shifts. Global Market + Economy Impact As world economies become more intertwined, foreign markets more broadly impact the U.S. economy. The Chinese economy’s size and its growth impacted demand for U.S.-made products, resulting in drastic increases in some material prices. Weak European economies and actions of European central banks created greater demand for U.S. Treasury notes, which has kept interest rates artificially low. More foreign investors have sought U.S. assets, including real estate, with safety being a greater priority than yield. All of these factors contribute to a spike in U.S. property values.

Not Your Standard Recession and Recovery

By Stan Sonenshine in Atlanta Real Estate Development, Great Recesssion, Real Estate Cycle

1 year ago

1 year ago 0 0 705

Most recessions and recoveries are straightforward. There’s oversupply, too much money and aggressive lending. The economy goes into recession. Values plummet, lenders foreclose, and occupancies and rents go down. Everything is distressed. Then, distressed assets are sold, the economy improves and rents and occupancies increase. Happy days are here again. But the Great Recession of 2007-09 and subsequent recovery have been anything but straightforward. Due to financial chaos and a slow-to-recover economy, the road from the valley to the mountain top has been long and winding. Financial Chaos In 2007-2008, government policy and deregulation encouraged overaggressive lending and leveraging of lender’s balance sheets, not unlike when the government deregulated the Savings and Loans and changed the tax laws in 1986. Not only did this create a deep recession, but it also caused a near collapse of the U.S. financial system. So, how did this impact real estate? Bank Failures +

Timing the Real Estate Cycle

By Stan Sonenshine in Real Estate Cycle, Real Estate Cycle Phases

1 year ago

1 year ago 0 2 660

Know Your Phases We all know the phases of the moon. You start with the new moon, move toward the glorious full moon and always return to the new moon. Just like the moon, the real estate cycle has phases. There’s no real starting point and no real ending point. It just recycles, repeatedly. Every phase of the real estate cycle presents unique challenges and opportunities; it’s essential to recognize which phase is currently occurring. Failure to do so can mean a huge misstep, resulting in significant monetary loss. I’ll address the real estate cycle in the next three blogs, which will include: Descriptions of each phase Strategies for each phase How the current real estate cycle differs from previous cycles Recession Recession, Depression, Down Market. Call it what you want, but this phase of the real estate cycle is typically characterized with oversupply in at least one property type.

Restaurants Hit Hard Amid Coronavirus Pandemic

CRE Bubble? Not If, But When

Where is the “Add” in “Value-Add”?

Are You Prepared for the Inevitable Real Estate Downturn?

Crosscurrents Impact Real Estate Recovery

Not Your Standard Recession and Recovery

Timing the Real Estate Cycle

Subscribe to this blog

Search Our Site

Recent Posts

Categories

Social Icons