National
EY Taps Grinis to Lead Real Estate Practice
A 30-year veteran of the global consulting firm, Grinis will oversee a 15,000-member team that serves some 6,000 clients. He succeeds Howard Roth, who will retire on June 30.
Newmark Unveils New Name, Eyes IPO
Dropping “Grubb” from its corporate handle, the services firm has rebranded as Newmark Knight Frank. Its parent company, BGC Partners, is planning to spin off the real estate services unit in an IPO in the fall.
Don’t Count the Regional Mall Out: Transwestern
A new report aims to debunk the supposed demise of the regional mall, and sheds light on strategies for both reinventing retail assets and boosting traditional brick-and-mortar.
Economy Watch: Retail Sales Dip in May
By Dees Stribling U.S. retail and food service sales dropped 0.3 percent in May compared with April, the Census Bureau reported on Wednesday. That’s the weakest monthly report for retail sales in more than a year and a half. Compared with the same month last year, however, retail sales were still up by 3.8 percent. As usual, some retail categories fared better than others. A handful of categories experienced month-over-month sales gains in May, such as furniture, up 0.4 percent, and apparel, up 0.3 percent. Grocery stores, as well as health and personal care stores, both eked out 0.1 percent…
Looking Back – and Ahead
Thirty years. That’s how long CPE has been reporting on commercial real estate.
Economy Watch Weekly: Fitch Details Upbeat CRE Outlook
Multifamily fundamentals should lead the pack during the second half of 2017, with strong showings from the industrial sector and tech-focused office markets, Fitch’s U.S. Equity REITs handbook concludes. Meanwhile, Pew Research reports that Americans are increasingly upbeat about the economy.
Digital Realty, DuPont Fabros to Merge
The all-stock transaction valued at $7.6 billion paves the way for the creation of the second-largest data center REIT and the eighth-largest publicly traded REIT in the country.
Economy Watch: Washington State Has Healthiest Economy
A recent WalletHub report ranked the 50 states based on economic health, which affects commercial property growth. Washington state took the top spot, followed by California, Utah and Massachusetts.
Economy Watch: Commercial Construction Planning Sees Uptick in May
Both the commercial and institutional components of the Dodge Momentum index increased for the month, suggesting that construction activity for commercial buildings will continue to rise over the next year, according to the latest Dodge Data & Analytics report.
Hyatt Advances Global Growth Spurt
The chain plans to open in excess of 50 hotels under the Hyatt Place and Hyatt House brands this year, substantially bolstering a worldwide portfolio that consists of about 350 properties and 200 cities.