REI INK

Navigating the Commercial Real Estate Market in the Post-Pandemic Period

Is the COVID-19 pandemic beginning to have an impact on commercial real estate? First quarter sales data from First American DataTree suggests we might already be seeing a glimpse into what’s likely to be a difficult year for commercial real estate (CRE) sales in 2020. At first glance, sales volume appears relatively stable, if uninspiring. Three sectors—apartments, industrial and hotels—actually showed modest year-over-year increases in the total dollar volume of

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What to Do While You’re Waiting for the Turnaround

Standard Management Company founder Samuel K. Freshman on the post-pandemic economy Samuel K. Freshman, owner and chairman of private real estate investment and management firm Standard Management Company (SMC) and chairman emeritus of Stanford Professionals in Real Estate (SPIRE), has been in real estate since 1958.  Under Freshman’s leadership, SMC has acquired and managed more than 6,000 apartment units and 5 million square feet of office, retail, mixed-use and industrial

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Regional Spotlight: Las Vegas, Nevada

“Sin City” Real Estate Posts a Summer Surprise When COVID-19 locked down the U.S. in mid-March, analysts understandably warned that economies heavily reliant on tourism and hospitality would suffer the most. With national unemployment spiraling into the double digits and remaining above 13% in June, it seemed likely that Las Vegas, Nevada, would once again secure a spot on the hardest-hit lists for the latest downturn, thanks to its dominant

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Helping Investors, Connecting Contractors, Building Communities

Home Depot’s Culture of Honesty and Problem-solving Is On Your Side. A little over a decade ago, Home Depot entered a new facet of the real estate industry when it quietly debuted its business-to-business (B2B) service offerings. Called Renovation Services, they target real estate investors, asset managers, banks, mortgage servicers and others involved in larger-scale rehab and renovation efforts. Of course, being Home Depot, the company was not really “new”

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Leases, Mortgages and Court Proceedings in the Age of COVID-19

What are your options for seeking relief? American business was functioning rather well before the COVID-19 pandemic. Contracts were predictable to follow, based upon ordinary operations and expectations. COVID-19 changed all that. Overnight, American business had to contend with local and state executive orders to stay at home, engage in social distancing and substantially limit, if not cease, certain business operations. As a result, many companies have experienced a downturn

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How Long Will Rates Be So Low?

The recovery is dependent on employment and business growth, so rates will likely remain low for the foreseeable future. On March 15, 2020, in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, the Federal Reserve cut the Fed funds rate to 0.25%. This reflects the rate at which commercial banks lend reserves to each other overnight, on an uncollateralized basis. The Fed’s goal is to encourage growth and spending. As the pandemic

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