Uncategorized – Page 48 – The Sundance Company

June 21, 2016May 14, 2016 sundancecompany Uncategorized

How Aging Baby Boomers Are Changing Commercial Real Estate Investments?

People around the world are living longer than ever before. And these people are going to need steady streams of income to sustain them through retirement.

When it comes to commercial real estate investments, meeting the needs of aging baby boomers opens up new demands and opportunities.

Retirement-minded portfolios

Real estate investments will help baby boomers through retirement, says David Green-Morgan, JLL’s Global Capital Markets Research Director. They provide “exactly the type of investment that pension schemes are looking for: lower risk more predictable income streams that allow them to match their outflow liabilities.”

And institutional investors are catching on—JLL predicts global real estate transaction volumes will blow past the $1 trillion mark by 2020, largely due to the extra cash these investors are allocating to the sector. While institutional investors only account for around 20% of the market currently, experts expect them to become bigger and bigger players over time.

It’s a global market

As more investors add real estate to their portfolios in order to find secure income streams — which are lower risk and inflation protected — supply will become limited. Asian buyers are already a major source driving climbing real estate values in the US and Europe, as sovereign wealth funds, pension funds and insurance companies from the region continue to store capital in real estate. And real estate investment is only going to get more global—by 2020 more than 50% of all real estate investment is expected to originate from cross-border activity. That’s about $500 billion a year.

But as there aren’t enough investment grade properties hitting the market to keep pace with demand, investors are going to need to cast a wider net. “We anticipate that in the absence of significant new stock becoming available, capital will target many different avenues to achieve its desired direct real estate exposure, including joint ventures, partnerships, M&A and other alternative sectors such as healthcare, retirement living and, increasingly, residential,” Green-Morgan explains.

Asian funds focus on real estate investments

It’s hardly surprising that people are living longer than before, but the combination of a shrinking workforce as aging baby boomers retire while more people draw on public pensions presents a problem. European pension funds are already struggling under this weight and have greater outflows than inflows on a net basis.

But the region most in need of an investment solution is Asia. Asia is home to five of the top ten fastest-aging countries in the next five years, and Singapore, Hong Kong and South Korea will be affected more than most.

“As the working age population shrinks in the coming years, global savings investment will surge,” Green-Morgan says. “This is particularly noticeable in China where the drop off in the size of the workforce mirrors that of Western Europe, the U.S., Canada, Japan and Australia.”

With this in mind, Asian insurance and pension funds are planning to invest $300 billion into global real estate by 2020 to help ensure they can take care of their elderly. And it’s a good thing they are—most pension funds in Asian countries are below the global average as a percentage of GDP, according to Green-Morgan, who says, “Looking ahead, we will see increased allocations by the region’s pension funds into real estate as a result of the ageing population, pension reforms and capital market developments.”

While it’s just one of many considerations stemming from the global imminent demographic shift—it’s a critical one to get right. More people are going to enter retirement in the next few years than ever before, and real estate investment will be a critical part of the formula for institutional investors.

The story originally appeared on the Hightower blog.

About The Sundance Company
Established in 1976, The Sundance Company has the experience to help you with your commercial real estate needs throughout the Boise Valley. If your requirements include property management, leasing, real estate development, project planning, construction or space planning then look to us. The Sundance Company has more than 1.5 million square feet of office and industrial space available in prime locations in the Boise metropolitan area. More information is available at www.sundanceco.com or 208.322.7300.

June 14, 2016May 14, 2016 sundancecompany Uncategorized

Millennials At Work: What They Really Think

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June 7, 2016April 17, 2016 sundancecompany Uncategorized

Silverstone Plaza Informational Video

Act now to lease or purchase ideal Treasure Valley office space at The Sundance Company’s latest commercial real estate project, Silverstone Plaza.

Just CLICK HERE to view a quick informational video about Silverstone Plaza.

May 17, 2016March 12, 2016 sundancecompany Uncategorized

The World’s Deadliest Animals

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April 19, 2016March 12, 2016 sundancecompany Uncategorized

2016 State of Small Business Report

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April 12, 2016March 12, 2016 sundancecompany Uncategorized

Is Google’s model of the creative workplace the future of the office?

When it comes to keeping employees happy and productive, companies such as Google lead the way. The brand is as famous for its staff perks – pool tables and bowling alleys, free food and gym memberships – as it is for its technology, and even employs a chief happiness officer whose sole job is to keep employees happy and maintain productivity.

Now other companies are catching on fast, boosting engagement and motivation by involving employees in creative activities and offering incentives that help them enjoy their jobs and feel good about themselves.

Workplaces all over the UK are creating breakout zones and gaming areas, where staff can chill out, chat, and stimulate their creative juices, or offering classes that equip staff with creative skills, such as languages, painting and drawing, and learning musical instruments.

Why? Because organizations that foster a workplace culture of creativity are likely to have happy, motivated employees who are more loyal and more productive.

Mark Rhodes, director of marketing at recruitment firm Reed, says: “All employers stand to gain by promoting creativity at work. The most successful businesses are those that engender creative thinking and develop environments where everyone generates ideas, has a voice, asks questions and challenges the norm. Some ideas will stick, some won’t, but what’s certain is you’ll learn a lot from the process along the way.”

Some employers are actively encouraging creative collaborations between teams. Every year, Manchester Metropolitan University (MMU) runs an event called Engage Week, where staff host events for other members of staff who want to learn something new. These range from sporting events to craft activities, such as metalwork, sausage making, chocolate making, picture framing, and learning basic sign language.

“More than 100 events take place during Engage Week,” says MMU organization development and training officer Alison Laithwaite. “We also have an MMU Makers group, comprising members of staff who do a wide range of crafts in their spare time, selling some of them during Engage Week and at Christmas, and also hosting some of the Engage Week sessions.”

Cognizant Business Consulting sees value in tapping into and learning about the creative talents of youngsters. The company holds regular Insight Days, and invites local school pupils to come in and learn about what a career in Stem (science, technology, engineering and maths) looks like.

They spend the morning taking part in interactive games around technology innovation, before facing four of Cognizant’s senior members of staff in a Dragons’ Den-style challenge involving different hi-tech products, such as wearable technology.

“If you set a group of year 9 pupils a challenge, it is striking how creative they can be,” says vice-president Phil Dunmore. “In a brainstorm, it always impresses me how they are able to immediately think laterally and intuitively, pulling in reference points from their friends, family, their environment and their use of modern technologies like social media.

“Creativity, lateral thinking and the ability to communicate are crucial skills in progressing through the ranks in any organization. It is easy to lose some of that natural creativity in our adult lives. Spending the day with secondary school students reminds us of this – it benefits us as much as it does them.”

Employees can be entrepreneurially creative within the confines of their full-time role, injecting fresh ideas into the company, some of which are implemented and rewarded.

Virgin is famous for its culture of innovation and creativity, and some of the ideas that have been implemented at Virgin Management were originated by members of staff.

“When we moved to a new building we asked people for their ideas on what was hot, and what was not,” says head of people operations Sharon Pommells. “The feedback ranged from ideas around the aesthetics, and what they wanted their workspace to look like, to the practical – someone suggested having hand driers installed because they are cool and environmentally friendly.”

Ideas on a much larger scale, such as unlimited holidays, were also the product of employee innovation. The key to making employee innovation work lies with a management team that listens to all the ideas and commits to making the best ones work.

At Virgin Management, employee ideas are submitted via a forum, and only a small number, usually no more than three, are taken on and implemented every year.

“If you are open to the gathering of thoughts, people will respond,” says Pommells. “When people feel more involved, they are happier, more engaged and more productive.”

The story originally appeared on the Guardian website.

April 5, 2016March 12, 2016 sundancecompany Uncategorized

24 Hours on YouTube

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March 29, 2016March 12, 2016 sundancecompany Uncategorized

CRE Stats and Trends

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March 22, 2016February 19, 2016 sundancecompany Uncategorized

Men’s Dress Codes Made Simple

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March 14, 2016March 12, 2016 sundancecompany Uncategorized

2015: Best Year For U.S. Office Sales Since 2007

U.S. office net absorption topped 100 million square feet for the first time since the Great Recession and the national office vacancy rate declined another half-percentage point in 2015 as broadening demand and constrained levels of construction contributed to tightening space availability in virtually every metro area.

The U.S. office vacancy rate declined from 11.3% in 2014 to 10.8% at the end of 2015, continuing its downward trend from the 13.2% vacancy rate at the worst of the economic downturn, according to data presented at CoStar’s recent State of the U.S. Office Market 2015 Review and Forecast.

Vacancies declined in 64% of the nation’s office submarkets and 56% of metro office markets during the fourth quarter of 2015. CoStar analysts expect office vacancy to continue trending lower to approximately 10% in 2017.

“The market is overwhelmingly strong at this point in the cycle. With the momentum in the market, I’m sure the next quarter will also be strong,” said Hans Nordby, managing director of CoStar Portfolio Strategy, who presented the findings along with CoStar Director of Office Research Walter Page and Vice President and Research Director Dean Violagis.

The strong metrics fueled a white-hot investment market, with preliminary office asset sales up nearly 18% in 2015 to $152 billion, Violagis said.

Atlanta, Miami and Nashville were among the markets showing the largest annual vacancy improvement. Each showed larger vacancy decreases than San Francisco, Seattle and Boston, demonstrating a momentum shift in office market strength from the technology and energy metros that have driven the economy’s recovery and expansion to markets that suffered during the recession era housing bust. San Francisco’s vacancy rate declines showed evidence of slowing in the fourth quarter as new office supply began to enter the market, Page said.

Unsurprisingly, Silicon Valley markets posted the strongest annual occupancy gains. That said, 8 of the 13 markets with the highest year-over-year changes in occupancy are not driven by either energy or technology, much different than just a year ago, Nordby said.

“Big-tenant markets like Atlanta and Dallas are doing well. It’s their turn,” he said.

While consumers are enjoying lower prices at the gas pump, some parts of the U.S. and parts of the economy are feeling pressure from global economic volatility along with falling energy prices and their ripple effect in equities markets, Nordby said. The S&P 500 has fallen about 11% since peaking last May, due in part to the weakness in energy-related stocks.

Tech Sector Warning Signs

Technology stocks are down more than 10%. Large companies such as Apple and Samsung Electronics last week warned that global economic turbulence and declining demand will slow the tech sector during 2016.

Sunnyvale, CA-based Yahoo’ CEO Marisa Mayer announced plans to eliminate another 1,700 jobs, or 15% of its workforce; along with other measures such as the sale of surplus real estate and closing of five global offices. Yahoo will also explore “strategic alternatives” to potentially sell or spin off its core search engine and web portal business. The company last month was reportedly marketing a 48-acre parcel originally slated for expansion in Silicon Valley near Levi Stadium in Santa Clara.

“Tech is volatile. It feels good until it doesn’t’ feel good at all,” Nordby said, adding that it’s unclear at present when or if lower private and public market valuations might affect hiring in high-tech bastions such as San Jose, San Francisco, Boston, Raleigh, Austin and Seattle.

However, the strong momentum from last year’s strong showing in the office sector and throughout commercial real estate markets is expected to carry well into 2016, the CoStar economists said.

Annual net absorption of office space increased to 101 million square feet in 2015, compared with 93 million square feet in 2014, while developers delivered 64 million space feet, a 41% increase over the previous year. The amount of new space under construction, which has trended downward in the last couple of quarters, stood at 126 million square feet at year end, a modest 7% increase from a year ago, and near the historical yearly average since 2000.

2015’s 4.4% annual rent growth topped the previous year’s growth of 3.8%, with rents surging at a particularly strong rate in CBDs such as San Francisco at 19.4% and Raleigh, NC at 13.9%. Even in the urban core of Atlanta and Detroit, rents in the urban core rose at 11.2% and 10.5%, respectively.

The story originally appeared on the Costar website.