The commercial real estate market is also ready for significant change in 2025. After years of high interest rates and challenges, experts see the coming year as a turning point for commercial real estate investment, thanks to strong job growth, low unemployment, and limited new construction keeping supply and demand in check.
Office space has been the problem child, with values dropping 41% since 2020, but there are signs of life. Rents are holding steady, and vacancies are coming down. With somewhat lower interest rates expected next year, refinancing should get easier, and investment activity will likely pick up.
But it’s data centers and retail that are stealing the show right now, see, data centers are booming thanks to AI demand, and retail is thriving with record-low vacancies and a surge in lease activity, SO… what to do with this information even if you’re not a big investor in real estate?
Yahoo Finance says that if you’re into the stock market, REITs (real estate investment trusts) are looking like a solid play, offering high dividends and benefiting from a more active transactions market.
Read more here
Realtors vs. DOJ: The Plot Thickens
Alright, this is the last topic for today—it’s a bit older news, but still super important because it affects all of us.
The Supreme Court recently decided not to hear the National Association of Realtors’ (NAR) appeal to stop the Department of Justice (DOJ) from reopening its investigation into alleged anticompetitive practices. This means the DOJ can move forward with investigating claims that NAR’s policies, like requiring seller’s agents to pay buyer’s agent commissions, might be inflating real estate costs.
For the average person, this could be huge. Real estate commissions in the U.S. are among the highest in the world, and if this leads to changes, it might lower the cost of buying or selling a home. It’s still a slow legal process, but the potential impact on your wallet is worth keeping an eye on.
Read more here
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