Situs RERC Announces the Release of its Q3 U.S. Commercial Real Estate Report, "Reshaping the Landscape"

NEW YORK, Dec. 12, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Situs RERC, the premier global provider of strategic business solutions for the finance and commercial real estate industries for over 30 years, announced today the release of its third-quarter commercial real estate (CRE) report, "Reshaping the Landscape." The report provides insight into the state of the CRE market, identifying regions and areas that are best positioned to provide value in this ever-changing world.

To download the full report, please visit: store.rerc.com.

The research reinforces that rapidly changing technologies are reshaping the way that we live, work and play, causing a major disruption in the CRE market. The world is now built on Amazon – both a boon for the industrial sector as online retailers need more space for logistics and fulfillment centers and a serious challenge to retailers as shoppers are doing more of their purchasing online. More broadly, industry participants must adapt to changing consumer preferences and needs in order to stay relevant – and profitable.

President of Situs RERC Ken Riggs says, "The market is penalizing all retail for e-commerce's effect on brick-and-mortar retail. Pricing for high-quality retail is holding up although the market is quiet on the transaction side. The reality is that e-commerce is clearly having an impact, but we are way over-retailed by 40 percent; many malls were built 40 years ago, and retail has always been a Darwinian environment." 

Highlights from the report include:

• Along with an eye on increasing interest rates, the other looming risks to the CRE market include political uncertainty, increasing construction and labor costs, and potential changes to the tax code.
• In general, investors have become more cautious as the markets have peaked. Many are taking more risk-averse positions and moving to asset classes such as apartment and industrial sectors where there is high demand.
• CRE continues to be a preferred asset class. Investors are seeking income yield and CRE has a favorable relative income yield compared to other fixed-income investment options and can serve as an inflation hedge. Although stocks are at new highs, there is less risk of a market correction for CRE than stocks.
• Stable demand and severely low vacancies and supply constraints in the industrial sector are pushing rents at accelerated rates – it is a feeding frenzy.
• Office sector sales volume continues to be down across the major metros. For institutional properties, investors lack options of where to redeploy proceeds from selling large office buildings. It's prudent, especially for those with core investment strategies, to hold on to these assets until the supply-and-demand pendulum swings.
• Since the Global Financial Crisis, coastal markets appear to have achieved the most robust pricing growth. Washington, D.C., which has been in political turmoil over nearly the same period, is a notable exception.

About Situs and Situs RERC
Situs has been the premier global provider of strategic business solutions for the finance and commercial real estate industries for over 30 years. Situs RERC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Situs, is one of the longest-serving and most well-recognized national firms devoted to valuation management and fiduciary services, appraisal and litigation services, and research, risk analysis and publications. A rated servicer with Moody's, Fitch and Morningstar, Situs has more than US$165 billion of assets under management and is ranked a top 20 servicer in multiple categories by the Mortgage Bankers Association. In 2016, Situs received a second consecutive "Advisor of the Year" award by Real Estate Finance & Investment magazine, and the "Capital Advisor Firm of the Year" award by Property Investor Europe. In 2017, the firm won the "Industry Contributor of the Year" award from Real Estate Finance & Investment magazine.

Contacts

Corporate
Ken Riggs, President of Situs RERC
312-587-1900
[email protected]  

Media Relations
Jason Chudoba, ICR on behalf of Situs
646-277-1249
[email protected] 

SOURCE Situs