This week’s round-up explores decreasing home sales, electric vehicle charging stations, office occupancy levels, and more. With home sales dropping and more buyers abandoning their plans, forecasters have rarely disagreed as much as they are now regarding where the housing market is going next. (Nicole Friedman, Nick Timiraos, The Wall Street…
Gravel2Gavel Construction & Real Estate Law Blog
Real Estate & Construction News Round-Up (11/30/22) – Proptech Trends, Green Construction, and Sustainable Buildings
This week’s round-up explores 4 key trends expected to impact proptech in 2023, global investment in green construction technologies, sustainable buildings and their perceived value for tenants in Europe, and more. Sitting at the crossroads between real estate and technology, proptech has experienced significant growth, which is expected to accelerate…
UCC Foreclosure Basics: Acquisition of Distressed Real Estate Mezzanine Debt
We recently provided an outline of items to diligence when purchasing a mortgage loan in distress—and separately also discussed issues to diligence when purchasing a mezzanine loan in distress. This post (the third in this series) outlines Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) foreclosures in general terms and describes key considerations for…
Real Estate & Construction News Round-Up (11/16/22) – Backlog Shifts, Green Battery Storage, and Russia-Ukraine Updates
This week’s round-up explores backlog shifts in the nonresidential construction sector, updates from the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine, lithium-ion battery storage issues in New York City, and more. According to Associated Builders and Contractors, construction backlog fell back below the reading observed in February 2020, largely due to…
Acquiring Distressed Real Estate Mezzanine Debt: A Diligence Checklist
We recently discussed the importance of diligence when acquiring distressed commercial mortgage loans, providing a diligence checklist for the process. Given that any foreclosing mezzanine lender may step “into ownership” if it forecloses upon its mezzanine loan, perhaps even greater care should be exercised when considering the purchase of a…
Real Estate & Construction News Round-Up (11/09/22) – Fractional NFTs, Infrastructure Lobbying, and Experimental Retail
This week’s round-up dives into NFT fractionalization and its potential benefit to increase accessibility in real estate investing, lobbying efforts surrounding Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) funding, experimental retail spaces, and more. Fractional NFTs, an iteration of NFTs that enable multiple investors to own a piece of a single…
A Court-Side Seat: Recent Legal Developments at Supreme and Federal Appeals Courts
This is a review of initial Supreme Court and Federal Appeals Courts oral arguments and other matters in October 2022. Oral Arguments at the Supreme Court Michael Sackett, et ux., v. Environmental Protection Agency The Supreme Court’s 2022 term began on October 3, 2022, with this important oral argument. For…
Acquiring Distressed Commercial Mortgage Loans: A Diligence Checklist
When purchasing a commercial real estate loan that is in “distress,” it is crucial that one understands the nature of the defaults and the motivations of each party involved in the transaction and the deal. Diligence is key. Begin by mining your sources. How did you learn of the loan’s…
Real Estate & Construction News Round-Up (11/02/22) – Flexible Workspaces, Sustainable Infrastructure, & Construction Tech
This week’s round-up dives into digital transformation in the construction industry, renewed interest in flexible workspaces, and how the infrastructure sector can become more resilient and sustainable, both economically and environmentally. Digital transformation in the construction industry is top of mind for many firms, but most are still in the…
Real Estate & Construction News Round-Up (10/26/22) – Proptech, Construction Starts, and the Solar Market
This week’s round-up features the decline in construction starts, proptech and its potential impact on the affordable housing sector, the residential home solar market, and more. According to a Dodge Date & Analytics report, total construction starts declined 19% in September. (Sebastian Obando, Construction Dive) Proptech, initially geared towards luxury homes,…