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Warning Signs: Hot Investments Might Cool Soon

By Darcie Lunsford

U.S. regulators continue to caution that the nation’s hot market for commercial real estate investments might be overheating.

And you don’t have to look much further than the extended period of low interest rates paired with strong investor demand—both domestically and internationally—to see the potential for a bubble.

Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen and Boston Fed President Eric Rosengren are among the Pavarotti-stature songbirds singing the tune that the rapid rise in commercial real estate valuations are built largely on existential stimulus, not necessarily the fundamental building blocks of rent growth and tenant demand.

Following the Fed’s late-September Federal Open Market Committee meeting, Yellen addressed the sector’s current high price-to-rent ratios and low capitalization rates under which today’s bullish commercial real estate buyers are underwriting assets.

“We’ve recently issued new supervisory guidance pertaining to commercial real estate. I would say that in the area of commercial real estate that, while valuations are high, we are seeing some tightening of lending standards and less debt growth associated with the rise in commercial real estate prices,” Yellen says. “But more generally, we’re not seeing signs of leverage building up or maturity transformation in the way that we saw in the run-up to the crisis and we’re keeping a close eye on it.”

A Fed survey found banks tightened their standards on commercial real estate loans in the second quarter even as loan demand strengthened.

“It’s possible that we will make a market correction, but it is hard to tell when a market is just a little frothy as opposed to being in a bubble,” says Mark Vitner, senior economist for Wells Fargo. “The ones that seem to be the most frothy are the ones that seem the most tied to the global economy with the most capital coming in. Miami is certainly one of those.”

Miami office sales reached $572 million in the second quarter, which was twice the amount in the first quarter, CBRE data shows.

“I think this may be one of the most dangerous phrases economists say: ‘It’s going to be different this time,’ ” Vitner says. “But it is really different this time. It really has been a big-city recovery.”

Miami, with its iconic skyline, mega-city sizzle and institutional investor allure, is unlikely to be the first spot to feel a commercial real estate cold front. Suburban markets in Palm Beach and Broward would be more likely to feel the chill first—and might already be, anecdotally.

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“We are seeing a slight slowdown in inventory coming to market,” notes Scott O’Donnell, executive director for capital markets for Cushman & Wakefield in Boca Raton. But, he says, it has less to do with what the Fed is talking about—although buyers are being more prudent with acquisitions—and more to do with diminished opportunities for incoming buyers to add value to properties. “So many of the value-add properties have been stabilized and sold,” he says.

Even so, O’Donnell says:  “I don’t see any kind of major pullback.”

Freelance writer Darcie Lunsford is a former real estate editor of the South Florida Business Journal. She is the senior VP for leasing at Butters Group, and she avoids conflicts of interest in her column by not covering her own deals.

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Drew Limsky

Drew Limsky

Editor-in-Chief

BIOGRAPHY

Drew Limsky joined Lifestyle Media Group in August 2020 as Editor-in-Chief of South Florida Business & Wealth. His first issue of SFBW, October 2020, heralded a reimagined structure, with new content categories and a slew of fresh visual themes. “As sort of a cross between Forbes and Robb Report, with a dash of GQ and Vogue,” Limsky says, “SFBW reflects South Florida’s increasingly sophisticated and dynamic business and cultural landscape.”

Limsky, an avid traveler, swimmer and film buff who holds a law degree and Ph.D. from New York University, likes to say, “I’m a doctor, but I can’t operate—except on your brand.” He wrote his dissertation on the nonfiction work of Joan Didion. Prior to that, Limsky received his B.A. in English, summa cum laude, from Emory University and earned his M.A. in literature at American University in connection with a Masters Scholar Award fellowship.

Limsky came to SFBW at the apex of a storied career in journalism and publishing that includes six previous lead editorial roles, including for some of the world’s best-known brands. He served as global editor-in-chief of Lexus magazine, founding editor-in-chief of custom lifestyle magazines for Cadillac and Holland America Line, and was the founding editor-in-chief of Modern Luxury Interiors South Florida. He also was the executive editor for B2B magazines for Acura and Honda Financial Services, and he served as travel editor for Conde Nast. Magazines under Limsky’s editorship have garnered more than 75 industry awards.

He has also written for many of the country’s top newspapers and magazines, including The New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Miami Herald, Boston Globe, USA Today, Worth, Robb Report, Afar, Time Out New York, National Geographic Traveler, Men’s Journal, Ritz-Carlton, Elite Traveler, Florida Design, Metropolis and Architectural Digest Mexico. His other clients have included Four Seasons, Acqualina Resort & Residences, Yahoo!, American Airlines, Wynn, Douglas Elliman and Corcoran. As an adjunct assistant professor, Limsky has taught journalism, film and creative writing at the City University of New York, Pace University, American University and other colleges.