Power Reads: 5 Interesting Articles That Will Help You This Week

Each week, I select a few articles that rise above the fray and hopefully help you on your journey in leadership and the CRE world. They pull from one of four "corners": corporate real estate, technology, management science and anything positive. Each day we can become a better version of ourselves.

1. Madison Avenue Landlords Hope for Revival as Local Residents Return

The street that dresses Manhattan’s wealthiest residents is still wearing the scars of the pandemic. But recently, there are signs of healing on Madison Avenue.

The famed shopping district, which relies more on locals than tourists, is coming back to life as New Yorkers return to the city, head back to the office and attend society events such as the Met Gala. Falling rent prices and rising availability have also created opportunities for younger retailers and even pop-up shops to open in storefronts normally reserved for established luxury brands.

Lower rents are motivating new tenants as well as others relocating from elsewhere in the city to sign leases, said Steven Soutendijk, executive managing director for Cushman & Wakefield Retail Services. Affluent Madison Avenue shoppers haven’t been hit by the pandemic to the degree they were during the 2008 financial crisis.

2. Burning the Candle at Both Ends: Pandemic Burnout While Working from Home

A recent study revealed that 75% of the U.S. workforce has experienced burnout, with 40% citing Covid-19 as a significant contributing factor, (Reynolds, 2020).

The World Health Organization recently recognized workplace burnout as an “occupational phenomenon” (WHO, 2019). During the Covid-19 pandemic, the chronic stress associated with workplace burnout has migrated from the office to the home.

A series of interviews conducted by Ware Malcomb revealed concerns about burnout and the need for remediation techniques to support the home-workforce.

3. Office Occupancy Stabilized In Q3, Ushering In The Next Phase Of Uncertainty

Office leasing in the third quarter saw its first rays of sunshine since the coronavirus pandemic began, but the trajectory of the next few quarters is still clouded with uncertainty.

Net absorption for office buildings nationwide hit its best level since before the pandemic began in Q3, with quarterly research reports from JLL and Plante Moran Cresa finding negative absorption of between 7M and 13M SF, about a third of the level seen in Q2. Quarterly data supplied by Colliers found 3.3M SF of positive net absorption, representing the first positive absorption since Q1 of last year.

Roughly half of the markets for which Colliers has Q3 data had positive net absorption in the quarter. In about half of those markets, the positive absorption was less than 100K SF, suggesting the office-using economy on the whole is in a similar phase, with secondary, tech-heavy markets like Austin, Nashville and Salt Lake City seeing the most positive absorption, Colliers Director of National Office Research Stephen Newbold said.

4. ‘There’s Not A Miracle Cure’: Port Experts Start Detailing Plans To Ease Supply Chain Disruptions

Port experts have followed President Joe Biden's Wednesday announcement that the Port of Los Angeles would move to 24/7 operations with further solutions, some of which would get commercial real estate more directly involved in solving the problem.

Biden made the announcement Wednesday to address sustained disruptions to the supply chain and backlogs at the port, which, together with the Port of Long Beach, handles 40% of all incoming shipping containers to the U.S. Newly appointed Port Envoy John Porcari and Port of Los Angeles Executive Director Gene Seroka on Thursday shared details on the plan to shift to round-the-clock operations and other potential solutions, including that they are in talks to potentially add sites for shipping containers to be staged away from the ports.  

“We’re actively pursuing multiple ideas,” Porcari said during a digital press conference. "One of them are inland pop-up sites that can be used to ground containers on an interim basis on either public or private property. That provides some temporary help while longer-term capacity issues are addressed.”

5. SIOR: Industrial Sales to Surpass 2019 Record

Forget Musk vs. Bezos, SpaceX vs. Blue Origin and Capt. Kirk actually flying high above the stratosphere. The “massive race for space” is down on the ground in the U.S., says a new report from the Society of Industrial & Office Realtors and LightBox.

The report notes that industrial sales this year could top $120 billion (the record set in 2019), with average rents rising by 5 percent to 7 percent, or even more, and purchase prices increasing by at least that rate—all despite varied headwinds.

By mid-2021 industrial sales volume had reached almost $52 billion, and the average price per square foot had risen by nearly 25 percent year-over-year, to $120.

Your success blesses others. I wish you a great and hugely impactful week!