- Supervalu May Spin Off Save-a-Lot Division “Grocery distributor Supervalu said this morning that it is considering spinning off its Save-A-Lot stores into a standalone, public company. The Minneapolis-based distributor, which operates a warehouse in New Stanton and supplies the region’s Shop ‘n Save and Foodland stores, said the Save-A-Lot discount grocery operation might do better on its own.” (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)
- A New Florida Mall Defies Retail’s Headwinds “It’s hard to conceive of a city that needs a new shopping mall in a country overpopulated with shopping sprawl. Yet about 10 years ago, the Taubman Centers, the national mall developer, teamed up with the Benderson Development Company, a real estate firm with headquarters in Sarasota, to build the 880,000-square-foot Mall at University Town Center east of Sarasota, close to Interstate 75.” (The New York Times)
- U.S. Homeownership Rate Falls to Lowest Level Since the 1960s “The share of Americans who own their homes fell to the lowest level in almost five decades, extending a multiyear decline as families struggle to regain ground lost during the financial crisis and rentals gain favor. The U.S. homeownership rate was 63.4 percent in the second quarter, down from 63.7 percent in the previous three months, the Census Bureau reported Tuesday.” (Bloomberg)
- REITS are a Very Bad Idea for Department Stores “In my opinion, most department stores units cannot successfully be packaged into Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs). Many store locations have limited lifespans. Plus the retail business is cyclical and subject to any number of outside forces beyond management’s control. These are not the ingredients that make an attractive REIT.” (Forbes)
- American Realty Capital Properties Rebrands to VEREIT “American Realty Capital Properties, the non-traded REIT sponsor mired by troubles last year related to a $23 million accounting error, has changed its name to VEREIT. The new name comes from the word ‘veritas’—the Latin word for “truth. Since the accounting errors were discovered last October, the ARCP name has seen its share of negative press.” (Wealthmanagement.com)
- Chinese Buyers Feed New Energy Into Texas Real Estate “With investors nervously watching the Shanghai stock market, Chinese are the now biggest foreign buyers of American real estate, and they are setting their sights on the biggest state in the Lower 48. Texas is seeing a huge influx of Chinese buyers, both investors and owner occupants, thanks to more affordable housing.” (CNBC)
- The Donald is Riding High on Real Estate Once Again “Trump is benefiting immensely from the soaring prices of New York real estate. Case in point: a $21 million apartment sale announced just a few days ago. As New York City’s preeminent developer, Donald Trump has seen his fortune wax and wane and wax again with the undulating fortunes of the Big Apple’s property market.” (Fortune)
- The U.S. Rental Market is On Fire “The US rental market is on fire. On Tuesday morning we got the latest report on rental and homeowner vacancies from the Census Bureau, which showed that rents are soaring and vacancies in the US have plummeted to their lowest level since the mid-'80s. And so it looks like the much-maligned millennial generation is moving out of their parents' basement and into apartments or rental homes as they look to get themselves settled before buying a home.” (Business Insider)
- Seniors Housing Market’s ‘It’ Factor “Investors can’t get enough of the seniors housing market and Bridge Investment Group Partners L.L.C. has the proof. Bridge-IGP recently completed the raising of $735 million of equity capital for the acquisition of seniors housing and medical property assets through ROC Seniors Housing Fund Manager. The equity capital, when leveraged with debt, allows for buying power totaling $2.2 billion.” (Commercial Property Executive)
- Netflix, On a Roll, Seeks to Double its L.A.-Area Office Space “The Los Gatos, Calif., company is eyeing a major move from Beverly Hills to the center of action in Hollywood that would boost its office space by at least 50%. The video streaming service signed a letter of intent to lease 150,000 square feet in a marquee high-rise office tower under construction on a studio lot on Sunset Boulevard, according to real estate industry observers who know about the deal but were not authorized to speak about it publicly.” (Los Angeles Times)
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