A report from the New York Times. “Brian Kavanagh, a Democratic state senator who represents Lower Manhattan and part of Brooklyn, was the lead sponsor of the bill that bars landlords from evicting most tenants for 60 days in almost all cases. ‘A policy that tells people they can’t go to work and therefore they can’t pay their rent, and then allows them to get evicted, and then pays for their shelter is just economically nonsensical, even if you don’t have a heart,’ Mr. Kavanagh said.”
“Many landlords don’t want to evict tenants either, said lawyer Michael A. Steiner. But with storefront and apartment tenants not paying rent, landlords are getting squeezed from both sides. Both tenants and landlords are ‘going to need something from the government, whether it’s the federal government, state government or city government, something that enables the landlords to get paid and the tenants to pay money directly to the landlords,’ he said.”
“Tiffany King, an unemployed hotel housekeeper, said she wants landlords to feel the trickle-down effect that comes with eviction. She hasn’t paid rent in months, part of a rent strike that she and her neighbors are waging to protest lack of hot water, and what she describes as rampant mold. ‘What tenants went through, now the landlords are going to have to go through,’ Ms. King said. ‘They’re going to have to stand on line for help, or go into their savings. They don’t think about our health or how we want to live.’”
The Greater Baton Rouge Business report in Louisiana. “Plans for the development of three new mixed-income residential developments in downtown east were among the few bright spots in 2020. Though Baton Rouge has a potentially worrisome oversupply of high-end and market-rate multifamily units, it lacks quality, affordable housing, experts say. ‘When we talk about how many units we have in the market, we’re talking about market rate units,’ says Wesley Moore, an appraiser.”
The Star Telegram in Texas. “As Fort Worth’s population grows, a group of City Council members are calling for a moratorium on some new apartment developments, citing concerns the city has become over-saturated with multi-family housing. The heart of the issue is whether Fort Worth has jeopardized future commercial growth by giving in to developers who request rezoning for apartments.”
“‘When’s enough, enough?’ Councilman Dennis Shingleton asked during a recent interview with the Star-Telegram. ‘I don’t want a glut of apartments but I don’t want too few of them either.’ ‘We have all the apartments we need, and we’re going to fight like hell to keep that rural feel,’ said Dave Fulson, a director of the neighborhood association. ‘We have over-extended our utilities and our roads. We are just over-saturated with development.’”
From Benito Link in California. “A homeless encampment of tattered tents, abandoned cars, bikes, appliances, clothing, and other debris near the Allendale neighborhood in Hollister has new homeowners upset. When potential buyers came to see the new, 81-acre DeNova Homes development on Vista Park Hill, the homeless and their possessions had been removed at the behest of the developer.”
“Those who have purchased homes in Allendale’s The Lanes subdivision are experiencing the most impact with homeless persons wandering their streets, causing alarm to homeowners. Their new homes now overlook debris scattered haphazardly for a mile or so stretching from North Street to a PG&E power station. Some of the homeowners are angry at the developer, saying they were misled and even lied to about the homeless situation. Others said they were tired of going in circles with Mayor Ignacio Velazquez and city code enforcement.”
“‘Not only is this affecting the value of our new homes, but they’re also leaving trash around,’ said Walker (who wanted to be identified as such for privacy reasons). ‘This morning they’re out here going through the trash. There was a woman going through the streets with a knife and we have kids out here playing. And they’re yelling and screaming over there at night.’”
The San Jose Spotlight in California. “Locally, despite unprecedented pressure on the economy, housing is still likely to be one of the bright spots of the recovery. Realtor.com’s housing forecast predicts the San Jose metro market will grow by 10.8% in both sales and price year over year. Lack of inventory continues to be the main factor driving up housing prices.”
“Dave Walsh, 2021 C.A.R. president and San Jose Compass manager, is predicting a banner year for housing in Santa Clara County, which could see sales rising at 5.4% or more if the inventory is there to support it. However, Walsh continues to see weakness in the condo market with the latest inventory numbers showing a 50%+ increase over last year.”
The Real Deal on Illinois. “Asset classes in the city have spent the last nine-plus months on a skyscraper elevator in freefall. The ride has left much of the industry queasy and stumbling as it heads into 2021. During the early months of Covid, as Chicago retailers were still grappling with lost revenue, protests over the police killing of George Floyd led to widespread store looting and vandalism across downtown and other neighborhoods. Then it happened again in the summer. Pandemic-related closures and restrictions have devastated those business owners and landlords, with many now barely hanging on.”
“The local hotel industry also remains among the most hobbled in the U.S., while Chicago’s office market, once a turbocharged engine, has sputtered. Companies have shed downtown space at alarming rates, with a growing number looking to sublease and some ditching their leases entirely. With Chicago’s hotel occupancy among the lowest nationwide, loan defaults have piled up. Recent appraisals have slashed property values, including at the Palmer House Hilton and the 610-room JW Marriott. And, as of September, the pandemic had cost the city about 12,000 hospitality jobs.”
“By October, numerous hotels in Cook County had skipped their latest property tax payments, adding up to nearly $500 million. Even the Hilton Chicago O’Hare Airport, owned by the city of Chicago and operated by Hilton, was late in paying its taxes.”
“The hits kept coming for Chicago’s retail industry. On top of dealing with the pandemic, many Magnificent Mile and Downtown stores sustained damage from looting and vandalism in late May and again in August, when some protests over police brutality turned violent.”
“More mall owners around the Chicago area sought to give up on their struggling retail properties, which have been squeezed by capacity limits and Covid closures. Among them is Starwood Retail Partners, which in late October decided to hand over the keys to its nearly 1 million-square-foot Louis Joliet Mall, about 40 miles southwest of Chicago. Starwood had last made a payment on its $85 million CMBS loan in March.”
“Less than a month before that, BlitzLake Partners and GW Properties relinquished their Orland Park mall after skipping more than 90 days of loan payments. The duo is now facing a multimillion-dollar lender foreclosure lawsuit tied to the 164,000-square-foot shopping center.”
From Bisnow South Florida. “A month and a half after redevelopment plans for the site formally fell through, The Shops at Sunset Place, a 9.68-acre outdoor mall in South Miami that once bustled with national retailers but has struggled in recent years, sold on New Year’s Eve for $65.5M, the buyer announced this weekend. That’s about 59.5% of the price the mall traded for in 2015.”
“The mall struggled with vacancies in recent years, and Simon Property Group sold the property for $110M in 2015 to the publicly traded, Maryland-based REIT Federal Realty Investment Trust, along with local partners Grass River Property and the Comras Co. An annual report disclosed the mall was only 62% leased in 2019. The owners planned to tear down half of the shopping complex, about 80K SF of vacant retail space, and replace it with three 17-story towers that would include apartments and hotel rooms. However, the partners defaulted on a $61M loan during the coronavirus pandemic.”