DAILY TOP 5

ICSC’s RECon conference—the “Super Bowl” of retail real estate—is just days away. Thousands of real estate developers, brokers, owners and retailers will soon descend upon Las Vegas for the huge networking and deal-making conference. At this year’s show, held May 19 to 22, hot topics will include the leasing needs of emerging retailers, changing consumer

“Many online retailers that started opening brick-and-mortar stores have seen anywhere from a 30 to 40% increase in sales.” So says Rick Scardino, a principal in the Chicago office of Lee & Associates. He and his Temecula, CA-based colleague, SVP Brian Bielatowicz, are seeing the bricks-to-click trend growing in both regions, and little wonder. A rising amount of

Kona Grill Inc. is looking to be purchased out of bankruptcy protection this summer — and its co-founder has entered the first bid. The Scottsdale-based restaurant chain already has a number of parties interested and should have a new owner by July 25, according to a motion filed May 14 with U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District Of Delaware. Bidding on

There’s a reason why nationally-recognized companies such as Amazon, Caterpillar, Raytheon Missile Systems, Bombardier, GEICO, Homegoods, Hexagon Mining, and other powerhouses set their sights and sites on Tucson. How did this former seemingly small college town transform into a home for more than 1 million people, 160 new and expanding

Apartment resident retention is at an all-time high, and renters in some markets are paying a premium to stay put.In 1st quarter 2019, 53.1% of U.S. apartment renters with expiring leases chose to renew rather than move out. Nationally, the average rent increase in the renewed lease was 4.6%. But several individual markets are seeing increases above 5%.

Commercial real estate experts forecast increasing demand for modular construction in the healthcare, industrial, education and multifamily sectors.“If modular goes mainstream, more manufacturing facilities will be needed to meet the demand for modular buildings,” says Mark Skender, CEO of Skender, a Chicago-based design and construction firm. “So, theoretically, yes, the more modular companies ramp up production

Many retailers are struggling and quite a few are even closing up shop – but that is not because Americans don’t like to shop. In fact, overall consumer spending is up. Americans just like to shop in a comfortable format, any time of day.And some retailers seem to have discovered the key to attracting their customers. These brick-and-mortar retailers and online e-commerce platforms have been consistently reporting growing sales.

Since moving to its new office in the Camelback Corridor at the beginning of 2019, Prologis Inc. has been busy growing its Phoenix portfolio of industrial properties.The California-based industrial real estate company closed on 114 acres in Goodyear on Bullard Avenue between Van Buren Street and Yuma Road where it plans to develop 2.3 million square feet of industrial build

Property Markets Group Inc. is set to begin work this week on a 19-story apartment tower in downtown Phoenix that will include retail and office space.Plans include an 8,000-square-foot gym, 4,500-square-foot coworking space and 50,000-square-foot outdoor pool deck. In addition, a 30-foot indoor/outdoor amphitheater space will be built for public art performances and concerts. The project is located

Two Goodyear hotels recently broke ground as metro Phoenix’s west side continues to grow. The two hotels, Tru by Hilton and Springhill Suites by Marriott, will have a combined 178 rooms and share a corner off Interstate 10 and Bullard Avenue. Both are expected to open in spring 2020 and will hire a total of about 50 employees. The two hotels will join a growing roster of hotels planned for the West Valley, stretching

New apartments will continue to be built around the Valley for the foreseeable future, according to a new report compiled for the Phoenix Business Journal. Kasten Long Commercial Group identified 89 prospective apartment projects totaling nearly 22,000 units across metro Phoenix. That’s in addition to the 91 planned communities totaling 21,672 units and the 56 projects under

Arizona ranked No. 14 in America with median home values increasing by 7.5% over the past year, according to RefiGuide.org, which released a study on The Fastest Rising Home Values In America after analyzing Zillow Research Data from March 2018 to March 2019. This was higher than the national average which saw home prices increase by 7.2%. Chandler ranked No. 35 with median home values increasing by

Apartment owners are warming up to technology services and solutions. In the past, there, owners have been hesitant to integrate and invest in new technologies, creating a technology gap for renters. Now, apartment owners are seeing the benefits of technology—it can generate higher rents, create more efficiency and better service and actually save money by eliminating tedious and time-consuming tasks, like

A new national report from Yardi® Matrix portrays remarkable consistency in the U.S. multifamily industry. Rents increased by $5 in April 2019 as robust job creation continues to drive absorption of about 300,000 new units per year. The average rent increase represents year-over-year and year-to-date growth of 3% and 0.8%, respectively. While these figures, based on a survey of 127 major U.S. real estate markets, represent

The current Goldilocks economy—not too hot and not too cold—is helping to keep the bears from emerging in the commercial real estate sector. In a move aimed at holding on to that warmish balance, the Fed confirmed during its May 1 meeting that it would not change rates. That move is expected to fuel another strong year of transaction activity. At the same time, it is stirring speculation about what action

It’s amazing when you think of it, that an asset class so dependent on lower-number transactions could claim $44.1 billion in 2018. But, according to Real Estate Forum’s Influencers of Net Lease, that’s the scorecard. One of the feature’s influencers was G. Joseph Cosenza, vice chairman of The Inland Real Estate Group, LLC.Little wonder. Over the term of Inland’s lifetime, it’s logged $13.7 billion in

Here are the Top 10 banks in Arizona, based on public voting for the 2019 edition of Ranking Arizona, the state’s biggest and most comprehensive business opinion poll. Ranking Arizona is based purely on opinion and ranks companies based on how voters answer this simple question: with whom would you recommend doing business? Don’t see your favorite on the list or do you want to make sure your

Mesa’s downtown is one step closer to a major makeover.During a recent City Council study session, Downtown Transformation Manager Jeff McVay gave an update on a large downtown project and introduced two others — a new Arizona State University location at the Mesa City Center, accompanied by studios, and a Co+Hoots at Benedictine University. The three projects are part of a larger effort to breathe life into

Retail is a tough industry to be in right now, but there are some shopping centers around the Valley succeeding while others can’t. Kierland Commons, a lifestyle retail center on the border of Scottsdale and Phoenix, was among the top-performing malls in the country to begin this year. Kierland is owned by Macerich Co. (NYSE: MAC), a Santa Monica, California-based real estate investment trust that owns and operates

U.S. office market performance in the first quarter of 2019 showed resilience, with roughly 14 million sq. ft. of absorption and dropping vacancy, despite increasingly cautious economic sentiment, reports real estate services firm JLL. Even with the delivery of 6.8 million sq. ft. of new office space to the market, vacancy dropped 30 basis points during the quarter to 13.0 percent, and asking rents rose 3.2 percent

Gen Z is one of the most fiscally responsible generations we’ve seen in a long time, prompting student housing companies to find creative ways of satisfying both cost and quality of life for students, especially within the off-campus luxury housing market. The following are important features to consider when designing and developing a student housing community geared towards this demographic:

Retail isn’t going anywhere anytime soon. This past March, retail sales surged at the fastest rate since 2017. Riding this wave of good fortune, private equity firms have continued to invest in retail brands and, as a result, have helped them thrive in the evolving retail landscape we are experiencing today. One of the main reasons private companies are investing in retail is because they view it as another growth vehicle with

While online grocery shopping options continue to evolve and win over more shoppers, for now moms are still making brick-and-mortar retailers their No. 1 place to do buy groceries , according to a new Valassis research report. But the numbers may not be as high as those traditional supermarkets might like. When it comes to food purchases, 52% of moms do most or all of their shopping in-store, compared to

Mortgage interest rates have begun to moderate, giving way to a healthier spring homebuying season, according to the latest Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey. The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 4.10% for the week ending May 9, 2019, down from last week’s rate of 4.14%. A year ago, the rate was 4.55%.“Investors wary of the current economic situation due to ongoing trade disputes resorted