The Dangers of Selling Commercial Property Too Late

The last downturn

cost those who chose to sell commercial property an average of

30.3% of their property value

---

Reason #1

Why people sell commercial property too late:

Complacency

 

Complacency is the most dangerous state to ignore.

It’s the moment before the market corrects and values decline. When the market goes through this initial correction, our natural tendency is to be complacent because initial corrections actually look like a cool-off period.

Then we expect the market to pick up again and continue with its growth phase.

But, the market continues to deteriorate and worries creep in as we wonder what is going on. Next, it is normal to say to yourself that your investments are good ones that they’ll ultimately come back.

When the market continues to soften until it seems there is no hope in coming back, that’s the absolute bottom of the market and the worst time to sell.

 

This point of capitulation is one of surrender and of asking how the government could let something like this happen.

---

Reason #2

Why people sell commercial property too late:

Ownership and Identity

 

In order to avoid loss, people will overvalue what they own.

That is what Richard Taylor, Daniel Kahneman, and Jack L. Knetsch identified with the Endowment Effect. In fact, Kahneman and Knetsch won the Nobel Peace Prize for their research in this area of behavioral economics.

---

It’s normal for people to overvalue what they own.

---

In a study with Cornell undergrads, broken into groups and given identical coffee cups, Kahneman and Knetsch told one group to value the cups they owned and the other group to value the cups they would purchase.

They found the undergrads with the coffee cups were unwilling to sell their coffee cups for less than $5.25 while their less fortunate peers were unwilling to pay more than $2.25 to $2.75.

But, it was Carey Morewedge’s research into the Endowment Effect that revealed that it’s not loss aversion that leads to overvaluation, it’s ownership and identity.

Morewedge found that it’s our sense of possession that creates the feeling of an object being mine, which then becomes a part of our identity.

 

---

Reason #3

Why people sell commercial property too late:

Loss Aversion

 

Why is it so difficult to sell commercial property in a market decline?

According to Brafman and Brafman, authors of Sway: The Irresistible Pull of Irrational Behavior people will go to great lengths to avoid perceived losses.

What’s more, people also succumb to their will to recover what once was.  They will spend whatever it takes not to lose, be it time, money, or emotional resources.

Imagine watching someone playing craps in Las Vegas. When they are on a roll, taking in their winnings, they race through the growth phase, reaching the peak of the game.

They feel ecstatic.

But what happens when the tide turns and they start to lose?

They enter the complacency stage, call it a short turn of bad luck, and keep playing.  They believe they will return to the top. But their bad luck continues.

By waiting to avoid losses, people hold off and then sell at the wrong time — maximizing their losses.

 

They lose their winnings, keep playing and generate losses. They would rather hold onto the idea of getting back to where they were at almost any cost than realizing their loss and moving on to another opportunity.

---

Reason #4

Why people sell commercial property too late:

Self Reliance Time Traps

Time Trap #1: Self-Education

 

People will self educate online because it is free and immediately available. A review of the search term on Google for “commercial real estate trends” returned 152 million results. A search for “commercial real estate trends YouTube” turned up 310 million results!

No doubt, an abundance of free information in the form of market data, blogs, market reports, and online opinions on what’s happening in the market is available.

Time Trap #2: Friends, Family, and Non-Commercial Advisors

 

When we aren’t sure what to do, we often consult friends, family, and non-commercial real estate advisors for input. Unfortunately, these people will not want to be the ones to say sell because it is easier to say no and risk being wrong than to say yes and risk not being right.

Plus, most of these folks will not have the data that you have seen here. These people are more likely to share anecdote based advice like “My friend made a killing in real estate. You should hold on, it will come back.” Remember, people who made this mistake lost in 2008-2010.

Time Trap #3: Hire a Traditional Broker

 

It is easy to find a traditional broker, given that 1 in 164 people in the United States today have a real estate license. According to the National Association of Realtors, there are about 2 million active real estate licensees in the United States.

The problem is that most traditional brokers do not specialize in Commercial Real Estate, Investment Sales and further specialization by property type. 

---

Have you thought of selling your property and would like to know what it's worth? Request a valuation for your property below:

Request Valuation

eXp Commercial Chicago Multifamily Brokerage focuses on listing and selling multifamily properties throughout the Chicago Area and Suburbs.

We don’t just market properties; we make a market for each property we represent. Each offering is thoroughly underwritten, aggressively priced, and accompanied by loan quotes to expedite the sales process. We leverage our broad national marketing platform syndicating to the top CRE Listing Sites for maximum exposure combined with an orchestrated competitive bidding process that yields higher sales prices for your property.

 

 

https://www.creconsult.net/market-trends/the-dangers-of-selling-commercial-property-too-late/

What Are the Top Two Real Estate Fundamentals to Keep in Mind When Investing?

What Are the Top Two Real Estate Fundamentals to Keep in Mind When Investing?

There are different ways to invest in real estate. If making money sooner rather than later is your goal, one of the key ways you can do that is by purchasing real estate that you can rent out. Another way to earn money is by buying undervalued real estate, fixing it up, and selling it for a profit. You may even be considering participating in real estate trust (REIT) exchanges. Whether you’re planning to become a landlord or a real estate flipper or diversify your portfolio, there are important factors to consider before investing in property. Let’s break down each of these:

Define your Investment purpose

Define your reasons for investing. What are your cash flow and profit expectations? Are your goals short-term or long-term?

As mentioned, there are different ways to invest in real estate. Are you buying property for self-use? This approach allows you to save on rent while also enjoying value appreciation. Or are you planning to be a landlord so that you can gain regular rental income and long-term value appreciation? There’s also the option to buy and sell or “flip a house” for a profit. There’s also the long-term buy and sell option, which means investing in real estate now in the hopes that it will appreciate over a long period and satisfy your long-term goals.

Understand the importance of location

“Location, location, location.” Location cannot be stressed enough because renters and home buyers will also be prioritizing the location of their houses. A potential tenant or buyer may love the home but will hesitate if its location is in a “bad” neighborhood or “off-grid.” Unless the renter or buyer’s goal is a secluded home in isolation, they’re likely looking for access to markets, healthcare facilities, schools, gas stations, and public transportation.

Generally, the closer your investment is to local amenities, the better. We live in a day when “30 minutes or less” and “same-day delivery” is still not fast enough for most consumers. The same goes for traveling to amenities such as grocery stores, hardware stores, restaurants, shops, and entertainment. Renters and homeowners also want easy access to public transportation to ease their commute to school and work. This includes a preference for properties closer to highways, bus stops, and train stations.

But what do you do when supply is low, and prices are high in the best neighborhoods? You do your research and look for the locations that have potential. Look for signs that a community is growing. Watch out for access to major roadways, new constructions, declining crime rates, and city development projects. It’s also a good sign if the area has popular chain businesses coming soon or if an established company has announced they’ll be opening a branch or office in the area. Any sign of new construction and businesses mean more jobs. And more jobs mean more people are moving to the area and looking for homes.

 

Source: What Are the Top Two Real Estate Fundamentals to Keep in Mind When Investing?

https://www.creconsult.net/market-trends/what-are-the-top-two-real-estate-fundamentals-to-keep-in-mind-when-investing/

Why I Want to Know More About ESG in Multifamily

Why I Want to Know More About ESG in Multifamily

Interviews for this year's 20 for 20 White Paper, ESG (Environment, Social and Governance) was an unsurprisingly common theme. Based on the 20 conversations with senior executives, it seemed that ESG was becoming a driver in many decisions, including technology implementations.

At the time, I noted that while the influence was big, it was unspecific. The parameters executives used to define potential ESG benefits of technology projects seemed extremely broad. The most sophisticated companies in the domain appeared to be at the stage of defining how they could measure ESG rather than using it as a decision-making criterion for individual projects. 

The broader media coverage of ESG in the nine months or so since those interviews has presented a mixed bag of views on ESG. It makes me want to know more about how it's affecting multifamily operations and technology. 

A Shifting Tide?

I was interested to read a recent special in The Economist (ESG Investing: A Broken Idea) that provided a detailed review of current ESG investment practices. The collection of articles referenced (and were perhaps inspired by) an essay series by Tariq Fancy, the former chief investment officer for sustainable investing at BlackRock, the world's largest asset management company. 

Fancy called into question the ultimate benefits of ESG initiatives, claiming that the profession is little more than "marketing hype, or spin and disingenuous promises from the investment community." He pointed out that investments were rendered acceptable according to the ESG narrative that could be established rather than hard facts about their benefit. 

The Economist took a similar perspective, generally calling into question the legitimacy of current ESG measures for several reasons. One, there are far too many of them. A study of six ESG rating agencies found that they used 709 metrics across 64 categories, only ten of which were common to all six agencies. 

As well as the sheer number of metrics, the Economist questioned the variety of interchangeable metrics that can contribute to ESG scores. If firms can balance poor "environmental" scores with higher "social" ones—which are heavily dependent on the prevailing political climate—it is hard to see how the scores encourage real accountability. 

The Economist strongly suggests that the ESG industry is, at least in part, driven by the need for asset management firms to identify new revenue streams. The recent apparent cancellation of "Dilbert" cartoons for ridiculing ESG culture at work also suggests a sadly familiar politicization of what ought to be a force for good.

A Multifamily Perspective

My sense from the executive interviews is that multifamily perspectives of ESG are firmly downstream of the broader investment community. Of the interviewees, public companies or anyone who has to raise capital paid the most attention to ESG. If investors look increasingly to the ESG performance of companies in deciding where they place investments, then ESG is de facto important. But details are scant.

The Economist's strong recommendation is to scrap most of what investors currently think of as ESG and replace it with just "E," which should stand not for "emissions" rather than "environmental." 

If companies were to hold themselves to the standard of trying to reduce emissions, stakeholders would at least have a chance to establish whether or not the companies were achieving their goals. There would also be a clear and broad benefit: reducing the contributions to climate change. 

The appeal of this approach is to make targets specific and measurable. The article parallels the other things we use to measure investments, most notably accounting measures. For example, the metrics included in companies' profit and loss statements and balance sheets are concrete in a way that ESG metrics currently are not. 

Towards Concrete Measurements?

If the tide were to turn in the investment community way the Economist and Mr. Fancy recommend, it is interesting to consider what it would mean for multifamily. It might tighten the scope so that only things with a direct environmental impact matter. Utility usage and the selection of development materials could become the primary or even the sole focus of the thing we currently call ESG. 

Of course, at this point, nobody knows how priorities will change. But what particularly interests me is what multifamily firms are actually doing concerning ESG. 

When I prepare to interview 20 more leaders at the end of the year for next year's paper, you can be sure I will ask them for their views on ESG initiatives. I want to know more about what went on this year, how we can expect them to change in 2023, and to get a read on where ESG sits in the priorities of executive leadership.  

 

 

Source: Why I Want to Know More About ESG in Multifamily

https://www.creconsult.net/market-trends/why-i-want-to-know-more-about-esg-in-multifamily/

Maintaining Your MultiFamily Real Estate Investments Property Checklist

Maintaining Your Multi-Family Real Estate Investments Property Checklist

Penny wise and pound foolish. Everyone has heard that old saying, but do you really know what it means. At its most basic it means to not choose to save pennys on items that if not addressed will cost you much more (back when this saying first came about, a British pound comprised 240 pennys). How this applies towards real estate investments are many fold, and specifically really seen in the area of maintenance.

In fact, most savvy real estate investors realize that the best way to maximize their returns is to make sure that their investments are well maintained. Not only will a well maintained property maximize their returns, but it will also protect their investment by at the very least maintaining their ROI.

Maintenance is as critical to your investment as any other component as staying ahead of issues can save you money, time and potential headaches. We reached out to our friends at Perma Pier to help us put together a checklist of sorts for routine property maintenance and advice on what to look for to prevent any issues getting out of hand. Here's a few of the tips you'll find:

• Walk Thru each unit at least annually to check for small water leaks, that may easily be fixed for a few dollars, vs. replacing damaged wood due to a continual leak.

• Have your electrical system inspected or tested annually: electrical issues account for 24.5% of all reported fires in non-residential buildings.

• Inspect the caulking and weather-stripping around windows and doors: finding and fixing air leaks could save you thousands in energy bills.

• keep an open line of communication with your residents and encourage them to report maintenance items they see and/or feel need attention.

 

 

Source: Maintaining Your Multi-Family Real Estate Investments Property Checklist

https://www.creconsult.net/market-trends/maintaining-your-multi-family-real-estate-investments-property-checklist/

The Future of Multifamily is Now

The Future of Multifamily is Now

Here are three fascinating current trends in multifamily housing that are dramatically changing the rental market as we know it:

1. Build-To-Rent (BTR) Single-Family Homes Are Bringing Privacy and Backyards to Renters 

The development of new, single-family homes specifically built for the purpose of renting is a trend that Forbes says is “hot and getting hotter by the minute.” According to RentCafe, Build-To-Rent homes are desirable because “the trend combines the financial and leasing flexibility of a rental with the amenities and convenience of a professionally managed property, all while living a single-family home lifestyle.”  

Built-To-Rent single-family homes have wide appeal. Renters of all demographics are tempted by more space and privacy than can be found in a typical multifamily community. Many would-be-homeowners may not be in a position to purchase a home, thanks to skyrocketing home prices which are outpacing wage growth. Inflation and rising interest rates compound the affordability challenge. Build-To-Rent has found its sweet spot, according to Forbes: at “the intersection of desire for a home and economic reality.” 

That explains why single-family rental home construction is going gangbusters all across the country. 2021 was a record year with 6,740 new Build-To-Rent homes completed. 2022 promises to be even stronger with nearly 14,000 Build-To-Rent homes under construction as of January, according to RentCafe’s analysis of Yardi Matrix data.  

GlobeSt reports that Build-To-Rent is becoming more important to institutional investors and has in fact outperformed traditional multifamily for the past five years. Says Paul Fiorilla of Yardi Matrix, “With so much capital looking to invest in the sector, and the demand for rentals rising, build-to-rents are likely to increase rapidly for the next several years, if not longer.” It appears this housing trend will play an outsize role in the future of the rental housing industry for years to come.  

2. Co-Living Arrangements Are Making Space-Sharing Glamorous 

The term co-living might conjure up housing arrangements that are less than desirable for most adults, such as cramped college dorms, youth hostels, and co-ops. But the concept of co-living is experiencing what some refer to as a glow-up: it’s gotten better over time.  

What is co-living, exactly? According to SALTO, “co-living is when a group of three or more unrelated people live together in one place.” The concept has evolved dramatically in recent years and come to include a wide variety of living arrangements which are much more attractive than shared spaces of old. Says CBRE, modern co-living properties are much like student housing for young professionals. The purpose-built or renovated multifamily assets are designed around several unrelated individuals sharing an apartment unit, sometimes referred to as a ‘pod.’” 

The concept of co-living is gaining in popularity for several reasons, including:  

• Appealing amenities: Co-living spaces differ widely, and their amenities do, too. But most make life easier and more enjoyable with creative perks such as furnishings, bundled utilities, coworking areas, and community events. 


• Flexible lease terms: Many co-living spaces allow residents the freedom to move when the spirit moves them, whether to experience a different floorplan across town or a different lifestyle across the globe 


• Camaraderie and connection: Many co-living communities feature gathering spots such as cafes and offer social events like happy hours, comedy open mic nights, and exercise classes 

• Shared Economy: Co-living appeals to residents who prefer to rent vs. own—not just their home, but their experiences and things. Consider the popularity of other sharing solutions such as Uber, Airbnb, JUMP bikes or Rent the Runway.  


• Affordable luxury: Sharing a living space can allow renters to save money while maintaining a higher standard of living than they might enjoy on their own. 

Co-living is another rental housing trend that appears to be both heating up—and here to stay. CBRE reports that “co-living companies plan to open more than 55,000 beds in the next few years and have raised hundreds of millions of dollars of equity to meet their expansion targets.” According to Vox, major co-living companies include Common, Ollie, Quarters, Startcity, X Social Communities, and WeLive, which is run by the co-working company WeWork.

 

3. Flexible, Short-Term Vacation Rentals Are Easier to Manage 

Speaking of the shared economy, another trend we are watching in the multifamily space is how renters, owner/operators, and technology companies are innovating to get in on the unsatiable demand for short-term vacation rentals. This has been a volatile space for rental housing, with many owners’ policies and leases as well as local zoning laws regulating or even forbidding short-term vacation rentals. Despite that, PropModo reported at the beginning of 2021 that 65% of recent Airbnb bookings were in multifamily buildings—and home rentals have outperformed hotels in 27 global markets since the start of the pandemic. Clearly the appetite for short term rentals is healthy.   

The vacation rental’s most well-known player, Airbnb, has deployed various solutions in an effort to capture a slice of the multifamily rental market as vacation rentals—some more successful than others. For example, the company’s “Airbnb-friendly building program” was put on the back burner in March 2020 according to Rental Scaleup.   

In June of 2021, multifamily software and data analytics provider RealPage announced an exclusive partnership with Airbnb to launch an apartment home sharing solution called Migo. According to a RealPage press release on the launch, “residents can recoup a portion of their monthly rent depending upon how frequently they home share exclusively on Airbnb. Owner can differentiate their apartment offering and share the financial benefits of home sharing with residents.”  

Benefits of offering home sharing as an amenity for rental housing communities include: 

• Financially advantageous for both renters and building owner/managers 


• Added incentive for real estate investors 

• Higher stabilized occupancies, faster lease ups, and enhanced property NOI 


• Improved resident satisfaction 

Home sharing may not be suitable for all communities. It is most desirable and practical in urban core areas with high walkability. Newer communities equipped with smart access technologies are particularly well-suited to home sharing.  

The pandemic caused a shift in the way people live, work, and travel. Many who formerly reported to an office setting daily have transitioned to hybrid work or permanent work-from-home arrangements, allowing more time and freedom to travel. According to Forbes, “with more people working remotely now, renters can travel more and not risk losing as much money on rent. It could increase listings (on Airbnb) quite substantially, with close to 50 million rental units in the U.S. alone.”  

We’ll be closely watching to see how successful rental housing owner/managers are at participating in the vacation rental economy. It seems evident that home sharing is here to stay; what’s less clear is how adept multifamily operators will be at managing the demand and accompanying challenges of short-term rentals.  

 

------------------------------- 

It’s true that the future of multifamily may not look quite like the setting of The Jetsons. For example, we have yet to see a rental housing community with conveyer belts that take residents from point A to point B. We’re also still awaiting the flying car that folds itself into a suitcase, no garage required. Developers have not mastered the 1,000-unit community on stilts concept just yet, and while multi-use real estate is all the rage, we’re still watching for the first rental property to feature a floating shopping mall.

Nonetheless, today’s reality for owners and managers of rental housing is evolving rapidly, and we’re excited about the rapid pace of innovation and the potential that comes with it.  

 

Source: The Future of Multifamily is Now

https://www.creconsult.net/market-trends/the-future-of-multifamily-is-now/

100 Roosevelt re-present

Value-Add Office Complex w/Multifamily Redevelopment Potential
Wheaton, IL
$1,375,000
https://www.creconsult.net/listings-2/park-place-of-wheaton-100-w-roosevelt-rd-wheaton-il-60189/

Why Should I Sell My Multifamily Property?

Why should I Sell My Multifamily Property?

There are a number of reasons why people decide to sell their multifamily property, but most can be categorized into three groups: Problems, Opportunities, and Changes.

With this decision though comes the consideration of capital gains tax and how to ensure you are getting the most for the sale of your property.

There are several reasons why people do sell:

Problems:             

• Management


• Vacancy


• Maintenance


• Stress


• Health


• Debt


• Neighborhood


• Interest Rates

Opportunities: 

• Strong Market Values


• Alternate Investment


• End of the Hold Period


• Tax Savings

Changes:               

• Divorce


• Death


• Retirement


• Partnership Split


• Relocation


• Consolidation


• Diversification

What do I do with the sales proceeds? I don't want to pay Capital Gains Tax!

There are several options for sellers to defer or minimize capital gains taxes:

• 1031 Exchange


• Delaware Statutory Trust/Deferred Sales Trust  (DST)


• Tenancy in Common Investment (TIC)


• Installment Sale

How do I know I am getting the most money for my property?

We not only market properties for sale. We make a market for properties we represent. Each offering is thoroughly underwritten, aggressively priced, and accompanied by loan quotes to expedite the sales process. We leverage our broad national marketing platform syndicating to the top CRE Listing Sites with direct outreach to our investor database and an orchestrated competitive bidding process that yields higher sales prices. 

What is my property worth?

Contact Us to discuss what information is needed to complete a Complimentary Commercial Broker Opinion of Value (BOV). 

I’m not interested in selling at this time.

This is understandable as only about 5% of the market trades in any given year. We are also happy discuss any purchase or refinance interests and recommend some physical and operational changes you can make to add value to your property you will appreciate when you eventually sell.  

 

Have you thought of selling your property and would like to know what it's worth? Request a valuation for your property below:

Request Valuation

eXp Commercial Chicago Multifamily Brokerage focuses on listing and selling multifamily properties throughout the Chicago Area and Suburbs.

We don’t just market properties; we make a market for each property we represent. Each offering is thoroughly underwritten, aggressively priced, and accompanied by loan quotes to expedite the sales process. We leverage our broad national marketing platform syndicating to the top CRE Listing Sites for maximum exposure combined with an orchestrated competitive bidding process that yields higher sales prices for your property.

 

https://www.creconsult.net/market-trends/why-should-i-sell-my-multifamily-property/