Bookmarks: 5 Interesting Articles That May Help You This Week

Each week, I select a few articles that rise above the fray and hopefully help you on your journey in the CRE world. They pull from one of four "corners": corporate real estate, technology, management science and anything positive. I welcome your comments on these articles.

1. Atlanta office ghost towns wait and wait and wait for workers’ return

Duriya Farooqui, president of Atlanta-based Point A Center for Supply Chain Innovation, recently convened a meeting with about a dozen companies. Most, she said, expected to have 10% to 50% of their staffs back in corporate offices by the end of July. But for the majority, it will be August or September before they reach 50%, about the max most think can accommodate social distancing. Even those plans are fluid and could be delayed. She noted the discussions were held before a recent rise in Georgia coronavirus cases.

Many companies in metro Atlanta plan to have about 50% of their workers back in offices sometime in the second half of this year, estimated Ken Ashley, executive director for commercial real estate firm Cushman & Wakefield.

In the meantime, life inside some office parks has slowed to a crawl. Brent Allsup and most of his co-workers are back at a law firm in the Concourse’s Queen building near where I-285 and Georgia 400 meet. But he estimates that only a tenth of the Concourse’s normal labor pool is on site with them.

2. Public Real-Estate Companies Are the New Way to Buy Distress

Bruce Bennett/Getty Images

Despite tumbling real-estate values during the coronavirus pandemic, it has been hard for buyers to find buildings for sale as most owners hold out. That has sent some scurrying to acquire shares in public real-estate companies and bonds.

A handful of big investment firms, including Blackstone Group Inc., Starwood Capital Group and Oaktree Capital Management, have been buying securities backed by real estate, according to public filings or people familiar with the matter.

These firms are betting that public markets are too pessimistic about the pandemic’s impact on property owners. Some of these purchases have already produced handsome returns as part of markets’ recovery from their spring low.

Ronald Dickerman, president of real-estate investment firm Madison International Realty LLC, said his firm bought tens of millions of dollars of shares in real-estate investment trusts in March and April. At the time, shares of some major REITs were down more than 50% for the year, amid widespread concerns that the pandemic would lead to falling property values and missed rent payments.

3. How to Help a Colleague Who’s Been Laid Off

Adam Gault/Getty Images

It’s obviously upsetting and difficult to receive a layoff notice. But if you’ve been spared while your colleagues have been let go, a tricky question arises: How can you best support them without feeling awkward or appearing patronizing?

Saying nothing — because you’re unsure what to say — might well come across as uncaring. But showering them with advice and encouragement might be the last thing they need. Here are three ways to lend useful support to newly out-of-work colleagues.

Being laid off — as Dorie was early in her career — can be destabilizing, so your colleagues may not immediately be sure about their next move or objective. It’s possible they’ll be looking for a job just like the one they had. Or the layoff may represent an opportunity to try something new, such as a career reinvention or launching an entrepreneurial venture.

4. These Are The Top 10 Issues Affecting Real Estate In 2020 And 2021

This year will likely be defined by its deluge of black swan events, with the coronavirus pandemic, ensuing economic downturn, civil unrest, and sustainability and environmental issues leaving marks on multiple industries.

For real estate, that can be layered on with supply and demand imbalances, property valuation ambiguity and possible turning points in how people interact with the world — and particularly the built environment — around them. These challenges pervade The Counselors of Real Estate's newly released list of top 10 issues affecting real estate for 2020-2021.

The Counselors of Real Estate 2020 global chair Michel Couillard revealed the organization's top 10 while speaking at the National Association of Real Estate Editors' Industry Insights webinar Thursday. 

5. Warehouse Demand Surges as Retailers Reset Supply Chains

Daniel Acker/Bloomberg News

Demand for U.S. warehouse space is rebounding as upheaval from the coronavirus pandemic pushes businesses to retool their supply chains.

Industrial real-estate activity, such as lease renewals and new leases, jumped 43% from April 15 to May 14 from the previous 30-day period, recovering more quickly than expected from the economic shocks of the pandemic, according to real-estate firm CBRE Group Inc.

Total transactions for the year are 2.8% higher than at this time in 2019 even though activity fell 29% between March 15 and April 14 as lockdowns aimed at halting the spread of the coronavirus extended across the U.S.

Retailers and food and consumer goods suppliers ramped up their e-commerce operations during that period after a surge of orders from housebound shoppers during quarantine. Companies are also securing new space to modernize their distribution operations, including locations near big population centers, for what they expect to be continued strong demand for services such as online grocery delivery.

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