- New York City’s Public Housing Is in Crisis. Will Washington Take Control? “Apartments lose heat in the winter. Buildings are bedeviled with leaks, mold and lead paint. Entire housing developments are overrun with rats. Conditions for the more than 400,000 low and moderate-income New Yorkers living in buildings managed by the New York City Housing Authority have worsened to the point that the federal government is considering taking control. Now, two men from opposite ends of the political spectrum, Mayor Bill de Blasio and Ben Carson, are trying to hammer out a deal to save the housing authority, also known as Nycha.” (The New York Times)
- U.S. Holiday Shopping Season Best in Six Years: Report “Sales during the U.S. holiday shopping season rose 5.1 percent to over $850 billion in 2018, the strongest in the past six years, according to a Mastercard report, as shoppers were encouraged by a robust economy and early discounts. The data includes in-store and online sales between Nov. 1 and Dec. 24. The National Retail Federation had forecast U.S. holiday retail sales to rise between 4.3 percent and 4.8 percent in November and December. ‘From shopping aisles to online carts, consumer confidence translated into holiday cheer for retail,’ said Steve Sadove, senior adviser for Mastercard.” (Reuters)
- A Hedge Fund Makes Billions Off Americans’ Underwater Mortgages “Fortunes were made on Wall Street betting against sketchy mortgages before the housing bust a decade ago. In its aftermath, one firm has made billions taking the other side of that trade, scooping up battered home loans in a wager that plenty of Americans would keep paying them. The payoff, years in the making for hedge-fund firm Fir Tree, is $2.6 billion and counting, according to an investor letter reviewed by The Wall Street Journal. Fir Tree has reached the final stages of collecting on its gambit at a time when the housing market is at a crossroads following five years of sharp gains.” (Wall Street Journal, subscription required)
- Three Ways Institutional Funds Buying Single-Family Rentals Impacts the Real Estate Market “Institutional funds started purchasing single-family rentals soon after the 2008 financial crisis and the collapse of the housing market. In the last decade, these funds have made huge inroads into the single-family rental (SFR) market, which is diversified but growing at a steady pace. Institutional funds have been purchasing thousands upon thousands of SFRs in the wake of post-2008 price drops, establishing an increasingly significant presence.” (Forbes)
- Maine Waterfront Quandary: Restoration or Redevelopment? “A planning board proposal under review would maintain the restrictions on the small portion of the harbor with piers used by lobster fishermen, buying stations and a bait supplier. But the other three-quarters of the so-called Maritime District, which is lined with modest wooden inns, which were built before the restrictions were in place. The district would be rezoned, making it possible for them to be redeveloped. Critics say the town should not give up a scarce resource.” (The New York Times)
- Retail Volatility Could Be Here to Stay “This year was a roller-coaster ride for retail, and 2019 promises more change. Where we were: Retail appeared to be on the mend for much of the year, but recent volatility has erased gains. Where we’re headed: There’s more change coming for the sector, says Cowen & Co.” (Barron’s, subscription required)
- Faith Hope Consolo, New York Real Estate Legend, Dead at 69 “Faith Hope Consolo, a legendary New York City commercial real estate broker, died suddenly on Sunday of an apparent heart attack. She was 69. Much-quoted Consolo, known as the ‘queen of retail,’ was chairman of the retail division of Douglas Elliman, a position she held since 2005. Douglas Elliman CEO Steven James said her many clients ‘believed in her to get the job done. And she did! She was a high-voltage character but deep down there was a heart that just wanted to be loved.’” (New York Post)
- Department Store of the Future: Selling Art Off the Walls and Car Insurance at Checkout “If the department store has a future, it might look like this. The space is a quarter of its original size. New goods hit the racks daily and are displayed on a single floor with an e-commerce warehouse upstairs. The store is closed two days a week and is staffed by full-time employees who know their customers by name and sell auto insurance among other services at the checkout. That is the blueprint for a newly reopened Carson’s store in Evergreen Park, Ill., part of the failed Bon-Ton Stores Inc., a regional department-store chain that filed for bankruptcy and closed all its stores earlier this year.” (Wall Street Journal, subscription required)
- Gap’s Fifth Ave. Store Closure Is a Bad Sign for NYC Retail Scene “The Gap is closing its three-level store at 680 Fifth Ave. — the latest holiday-season lump of coal for the city’s troubled retail real estate scene. The shutdown, planned for Jan. 1, comes as a shock. Although the company said earlier this year it would close hundreds of “underperforming” stores across the US, it made no mention of 680 Fifth. How can a store on the avenue between East 53rd and East 54th streets, one of the busiest blocks in the world, be ‘underperforming’?” (New York Post)
- Three 2018 Real Estate Trends Gaining Momentum in 2019 “Throughout 2018, the corporate real estate industry has been reshaped by shifts in technology and business. Given the current extended up cycle in the corporate real estate market, it’s likely that this will only accelerate in 2019. I recently sat down with my colleagues Paul Kay, VP in Toronto, and Melissa Marsh, senior managing director, occupant experience, based in Savills Studley’s New York headquarters, for a conversation about three intriguing trends.” (GlobeSt.com)
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