Editors’ Weekly News Roundup October 27 – October 31
All eyes were on the Federal Reserve and its decision-making this past week. Therefore, it stands to reason that the Fed’s actions would be the basis of the most-read story on Connect CRE.
Posted as breaking news on both Connect CRE and its sister website Connect Money, a follow-up piece headlined FOMC Analysis: Fed Delivers Second Straight Rate Cut, Pauses Balance Sheet Runoff drew more readers than any other content last week. That includes the story that went out immediately after Chairman Jerome Powell’s Oct. 29 announcement.
“A change in monetary policy is like the tide turning—broad, gradual, and far-reaching,” Thomas Raymond, founding partner of Callan Family Office, told Connect Money’s Joe Palmisano. “While a 25-basis-point cut alone doesn’t dictate our positioning, we’ve long believed policy was turning dovish.”
Two regional stories and two of national interest comprised the balance of the top five. In the Southern California enclave of Thousand Oaks, an account managed by BlackRock made local history. BlackRock Makes Ventura County’s First Unleveraged Institutional Deal reported the sale of Santal Thousand Oaks, a recently constructed, 142-unit mid-rise multifamily property. It was the past week’s second most-read story.
In addition to serving as the basis for the county’s first-ever deployment of unleveraged pension fund capital into a multifamily property, Santal Thousand Oaks makes two other claims to distinction, according to Newmark, which arranged the sale. It’s the only multifamily asset delivered in Thousand Oaks in the past 15 years and it commands the highest rents in Ventura County.
On the subject of institutional-scale players, the week’s third most-read story was BGO Closes Industrial Strategies Fund at $800M with Data Center Co-Investment. The story informed readers that the real estate investment management and lending firm projected a gross asset value of $2.43 billion for its inaugural closed-end fund.
The first fund of BGO’s U.S. Industrial Strategies features a portfolio of eight industrial projects developed in collaboration with NorthPoint Development. It includes three properties planned for data center development, and BGO is securing up to 800 megawatts of power capacity to support the digital infrastructure projects.
Development was also the theme of the week’s fourth most-read story. RYBAK Will Lead Next Phase of Coney Island West Development detailed plans for a New York City-owned parcel that will eventually hold 500 apartments, 25% of which will be affordable.
Construction on the $350-million project is expected to launch in 2027, with completion targeted for 2030. “Utilizing public land for housing is a critical way to increase our supply,” said Andrew Kimball, president and CEO of New York City Economic Development Corporation.
Dovetailing the subject matter of the week’s top story, the evolving interest rate environment was among the macroeconomic circumstances cited in Four Factors Bolster CRE Investors’ Near-Term Outlook. The story was derived from a Marcus & Millichap Research Brief that explained the increasing bullishness with which investors regard commercial property.
Among other factors, the Research Brief considered the impact of a reset in pricing. Cap rates have widened by an average of 80 to 130 basis points, depending on the property type, and this has enabled investors to pick up quality assets at below replacement cost.