2017 Articles
Key takeaways from DLA Piper's 14th Global Real Estate Summit
On September 26, 2017, commercial real estate leaders from around the world met in Chicago for DLA Piper's 14th Global Real Estate Summit.
The Summit came at what might be described as an uneasy moment, amid rising concerns about political turmoil both domestically and abroad and the growing realization that the current growth cycle has to run out of steam – eventually.
Creating Communities from Scratch: The Era of Placemaking
One thing became abundantly clear at DLA Piper's 2017 Global Real Estate Summit: placemaking's not just for architects anymore.
"The art – and it's very much an art and not a science – of creating a welcome place where people want to be is nothing new," said Don C. Wood, President and Chief Executive Officer, Federal Realty Investment Trust. "What's changed is the prioritization of the practice." Read the full article.
In Hunt for Value, Investors Turn to Healthcare, Data Centers, Student Housing
While there are values and attractive properties to be found all across the commercial real estate spectrum, investors will be turning much of their attention to non-traditional sectors like healthcare, data centers and housing for students and seniors in the coming months and years.
That was the assessment of a group of investment experts at DLA Piper's 2017 Global Real Estate Summit on September 26, 2017, in Chicago. The panel, chaired by Jeffrey A. Barclay, managing director of Goldman Sachs, was titled "Evolving with the Times: Non-Traditional Realms for Real Estate"; it began with a discussion of the overall market. Read the full article.
Market May Be Slow, But Tech, City Centers Remain Hot, Dealmakers Say
With the stated agreement that they would avoid talking politics, a group of top dealmakers gathered at DLA Piper's 2017 Global Real Estate Summit to discuss how to find successful deals for their stakeholders amid a volatile environment. The session, chaired by Bruce R. Cohen, CEO of Wrightwood Financial was titled "Making Deals Amid Uncertainty." Read the full article.
As Credit Flows, CRE Cycle Stretches on – But for How Long?
There were some differences of opinion, but a panel of commercial real estate leaders at DLA Piper's Global Real Estate Summit on September 26, 2017 in Chicago agreed on one thing: as the economy goes, so goes commercial property.
The panel, titled "Current Finance Markets" and chaired by Moody's Investor Service Senior Vice President Daniel B. Rubock, discussed spreads, LIBOR and how Moody's rates investments. Read the full article.
Is "Winter Coming" for CRE? Fundraising Experts Weigh in
To kick off a panel at DLA Piper's Global Real Estate Summit titled "Raising and Deploying Capital in a Fragile World," attendees first listened to an Urban Land Institute assessment of the CRE landscape.
"RE players want to believe that an unprecedented decade-plus of halcyon returns will endure indefinitely, but somehow sense ‘the boom is over'," said Stephen R. Quazzo, CEO of Pearlmark Real Estate, reading the ULI findings aloud at the Summit on September 26, 2017, in Chicago. Read the full article.
"We Love the USA" – Foreign Investors Still View US Real Estate Favorably
Global investment in US commercial real estate appears to be down from its peak in 2015 and maybe even its 2016 levels. But a panel of investors from around the world said they remain fairly bullish – or, at least, confident that good investments can still be found.
James A. Fetgatter, chief executive of AFIRE, chaired the panel titled, "An Enduring Destination for Capital: How Will Investment in the US Be Affected by Volatility at Home and Abroad?" at DLA Piper's Global Real Estate Summit on September 26, 2017, in Chicago. Fetgatter noted that foreign investors put US$28 billion toward US CRE in the first half of 2017 – down from the torrid pace of 2015, when $US95 billion was spent. Read the full article.
User Experience, Data Centers, Co-Working Drive CRE Evolution
With advances in technology, evolving expectations and changing consumption patterns – largely spurred by Millennials – commercial real estate is changing rapidly. But when it comes to providing what consumers want, one thing is clear: User experience matters.
Maybe more than ever before. That was a primary takeaway from a panel at DLA Piper's Global Real Estate Summit on September 26, 2017, in Chicago. Chaired by Cynthia Foster, president of Colliers International's national office brokerage, the panel, "Real Estate in a Changing World," included world-class investors and developers involved in some of the nation's biggest CRE projects. Read the full article.
Veteran Pols Pritzker, Mitchell, Cohen on Our Volatile Moment
In the midst of one of the most contentious, divisive political moments in most Americans' lifetimes, a trio of venerated public servants gathered at DLA Piper's Global Real Estate Summit for a frank, weighty discussion about where we are, how we got here and where it might lead us.
The panel, titled "A New Political Order: Domestic and Global Business in the Trump Era" and led by Real Estate Roundtable CEO Jeffrey DeBoer, featured former Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker, former Senate Majority Leader George Mitchell and former Senator and US Secretary of Defense William Cohen. Read the full article.
Ackman Affirms Bullish Outlook on US Real Estate
Bill Ackman likes what he sees in the US real estate market. Given the favorable interest-rate environment, economic fundamentals, demographics and potential for inflation, the hedge-fund titan is bullish on real estate.
"I see low interest rates, relatively low inflation, a well-capitalized financial system," he said on September 26, 2017, at the DLA Piper Global Real Estate Summit in Chicago. "Real estate is one of the best places to invest capital." Read the full article.
Healthcare, Seniors Housing and Research to Remain Strong for CRE, Ventas CEO Says
As the head of Ventas for nearly two decades, Debra Cafaro has led her company to its position as one of the "Big Three" healthcare real estate investment trusts (REITs) in the United States. She's also the longest-serving female CEO among Standard & Poor 500 firms.
Ventas now owns nearly 1,300 healthcare properties − and it's made moves to expand to other areas. With DLA Piper's Global Real Estate Summit just weeks away, Cafaro provided some perspective on Ventas's growth and her outlook for the months and years ahead. Read the full Q&A.
A Bullish Outlook for Foreign Investment in US CRE
She’s managed more than US$1.7 billion of cross border capital and completed more than 100 real estate transactions totaling over US$2.3 billion in the US, Germany, Sweden and China.
She’s Tinchuck Ng, international chair of the Real Estate Board at Cottonwood Management and founder and managing principal of Athena International Capital. As she prepares to return to DLA Piper’s Global Real Estate Summit, Ng is bullish about foreign investment in US commercial real estate and the sector overall. Read the full Q&A.
From an Insider: Jeff DeBoer Sees Important Juncture for Real Estate Policy
In his three-plus decades of work in Washington on behalf of real estate and his two-decade tenure as president and CEO of The Real Estate Roundtable, Jeff DeBoer has had a hand in nearly every piece of significant real estate legislation since 1982.
Now, with most in the industry once again closely watching developments in the Beltway, DeBoer says previous points in the real estate cycle can provide valuable lessons. Read the full Q&A.
CRE Fundamentals Remain Strong: a Q&A on the DLA Piper Global Real Estate Summit
Commercial real estate transaction volume has fallen from its peaks in 2015 and 2016. But the market remains fundamentally sound and quite active, especially when viewed on an historical basis.
So says John Sullivan, chair of DLA Piper’s US Real Estate practice, in a discussion of the state of the market and what lies ahead leading up to DLA Piper’s Global Real Estate Summit in September. Sullivan predicts steady activity through the end of 2017. Read the full Q&A.