Welcome to CREtrends.com — a blog about commercial real estate

Developed and maintained by attorneys at Leonard, Street and Deinard, this site will address a wide variety of topics focused on commercial real estate. Collectively, we offer decades of industry experience and a national perspective that extends from our Midwestern base. Our goal is to help individuals and businesses better understand the issues driving today’s commercial real estate trends. Our Bloggers →

Latest Commercial Real Estate Blog Posts
Bidding on a home

Small Lot Subdivisions Address Urban Housing Needs

May 9

Affordable Housing, Brownfields, Land Use, Residential Development, Uncategorized A small lot subdivision is a tool for building detached, single-family homes on urban infill lots.  For example, a small lot subdivision might permit the construction of three detached, single-family homes on a single zoning lot zoned for 2-4 family development.  A report prepared by the Los Angeles architectural firm Modative and available for free on their website gives examples and much useful information on using small lot subdivisions.   The key... Read more →

Shaun McElhatton

gold-dollar-sign

New Homes–Would You Like to Supersize That?

Apr 24

Banking/Finance, Commercial Development, Mixed-use Development, Residential Development, Uncategorized In an earlier post, we noted a recent trend toward smaller apartments and discussed whether the trend would last beyond the end of the housing recession.  A recent New York Times article suggests that the trend is dead, at least at the highest end of the residential market.  That article discusses a strong trend in the Manhattan and South Florida markets toward huge apartments containing more than 3,000 square feet, which the article refers to as... Read more →

Shaun McElhatton

tokyo streets

Convenient Public Transportation Helps Senior Housing

Apr 13

Affordable Housing, Banking/Finance, Land Use, Mixed-use Development, Residential Development, Transportation The senior housing boom finally seems to be taking hold in the U.S.  One trend that we have noted is that affordable senior housing along transportation corridors is in great demand, with new units filling up months before construction is complete.  In our car-centric culture, one factor that moves people to seek out senior housing is the loss of the ability to drive--whether caused by physical, mental, or financial disabilities.  The physical and... Read more →

Shaun McElhatton

Man Signing Paper

Calculating Tenant’s Share of Commercial Condominium Expenses is Tricky

Apr 2

Commercial Development, Mixed-use Development, Retail, Uncategorized It is common for a lease of a commercial condominium unit to require the tenant to pay the entire condominium assessment for the unit during the lease term.   Under such an arrangement, the tenant could end up paying some expenses that are usually paid by the landlord in a commercial lease.  For example, commercial condominium assessments may include a contribution toward association reserves.  Those are funds that are typically earmarked for... Read more →

Shaun McElhatton

Apartment Buildings

Tight Rental Market Tough for Tenants

Mar 27

Affordable Housing, Commercial Development, Land Use, Residential Development, Uncategorized In an earlier post, we reported on record high affordability levels for home purchasers.  Some of the trends driving that phenomenon have, predictably, resulted in low levels of affordability for renters.  A recent report from the National Low Income Housing Coalition describes the challenges facing low-income renters, many of whom pay rents considered unaffordable by the standard measure of affordability (rent no more than 30% of income).  Of the... Read more →

Shaun McElhatton

growth-chart

Improved Fundamentals for Commercial Real Estate

Feb 27

Affordable Housing, Commercial Development, Mixed-use Development, Residential Development, Retail The National Association of Realtors (NAR) has issued its quarterly commercial real estate forecast and reports that all major commercial real estate sectors are experiencing improved fundamentals.  A press release summarizing the forecast can be found here.  NAR reports that multifamily housing is becoming a landlord’s market, while office and industrial space remain a tenant’s market.  Among other predictions for 2013, NAR predicts that by the... Read more →

Jim Wilson

Bidding on a home

Home Affordability Index at Record Level

Feb 16

Affordable Housing, Commercial Development, Land Use, Residential Development, Uncategorized An American family's ability to purchase a home is at its highest level in the last twenty years.  A CNN Money article reports that the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Opportunity Index has hit its highest level since the index was started twenty years ago.  At current affordability levels, 75.9% of all new and existing homes sold during the three months that ended on December 31, 2011 could have been comfortably purchased... Read more →

Shaun McElhatton

office tower

Financial Expert Predicts European Debt Crisis Will Have Little Impact on US Commercial RE Market

Feb 15

Banking/Finance, Commercial Development, Land Use, Retail, Uncategorized Jacques Gordon, global investment strategist for LaSalle Investment Management, predicts in a Wall Street Journal blog post today that the European debt crisis that is currently playing out will have only a small impact on US commercial real estate markets.  Mr. Gordon does indicate that European banks are downsizing, which may have a modest impact on East Coast office markets.  On the other hand, the decline in the euro relative to the dollar makes... Read more →

Shaun McElhatton

Man Signing Paper

Court Upholds Termination of 20 Year Energy Center Agreement

Feb 8

Commercial Development, Land Use, Mixed-use Development, Residential Development, Uncategorized A recent decision by the Minnesota Court of Appeals upheld a condominium association's termination of an agreement to purchase heating and cooling services in a multi-use building even though the agreement was not scheduled to terminate until the end of 2024.  The Court's decision was based on a provision of Minnesota law that is similar to the laws in several other states.  The Minnesota law permits an owners' association to terminate any agreement... Read more →

Shaun McElhatton

Mall upper and lower levels

Ford Motor Co Looks to Graves 601 Hotel as Model for Luxury Marketing

Feb 6

Commercial Development, Hospitality, Mixed-use Development In a recent article, Ford Motor Co's global marketing head mentioned Minneapolis' Graves 601 Hotel as a model for its new luxury marketing strategy.  Commenting, "When I or my peers or even our dealers go look around and say who does, who scales, who codifies personal service, it's not in our industry," Ford's representative indicated that he will look to the luxury hotel market, including the Graves 601, for guidance and insight in developing Ford's new... Read more →

Shaun McElhatton

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