1. Turkey: BLG Capital Expands Beyond Core Markets With Dual Real Estate Strategy
The sale of a luxury resort in eastern Turkey marks the latest move for a local private equity firm to diversify its portfolio by location and asset type.
In March, Istanbul-based BLG Capital finalized the sale of the Amanruya Bodrum in Turkey to an unnamed Turkish asset-management firm for approximately $75 million, or $2.1 million per key. Located on the Mediterranean coast in eastern Turkey, the resort has 36 free-standing villas, all with private pools, and BLG Capital managing director Giray Boran said the transaction represented the highest price per room and yield ever achieved in Turkey.
2. UK: Government Sends Observer To RICS Board Meetings
The government's Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities is sending an observer to sit in on the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyor's Standards and Regulation Board meetings in a move called "very positive" by the property industry body.
The latest development comes as RICS has battled with the government over the extent of Clause 213 of the Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill, an initiative that seeks explicit powers for the Secretary of State to review the work and performance of the real estate surveying industry's professional body. The Institution is trying to move on from a turbulent period in its history that has seen major investigations into its financial conduct and its relevance to the property industry.
3. Germany: City of Berlin Buys Nearly 5,000 Apartments
The municipal Berlin housing association Howoge is buying 4,495 apartments from listed property company Vonovia for 700 million euros.
Most of the residential properties are refurbished buildings with a vacancy rate of less than 1%. The price corresponds to the last book value, though Vonovia has written it down by 14.4% since its peak in mid-2022. EY, Greenberg Traurig and Dentons advised on the transaction. Berlin had already acquired about 15,000 apartments from Deutsche Wohnen and Vonovia in 2021 through its housing companies.
4. France: Office Property Hit Hard in Wake of Initial Gain After Pandemic Struck
After showing a degree of resilience in the wake of the health crisis, and even recording improved results, French office real estate has been hit hard by the macroeconomic shocks of recent years.
At a time when the sector is undergoing structural transformation, and the effects of a cyclical downturn are still uncertain, the French tertiary markets are moving toward new paradigms. Several factors may explain this trend, starting with a technical catch-up effect, after real estate decisions were postponed following constrained activity in 2020. Companies are looking to renew space amid a sustained introduction of telecommuting is being offset by a greater need for meeting and exchange spaces, as well as by a mechanical acceleration in relocations.
5. Canada: The Path Forward for the Nation's Subterranean Retail World
He was a critical architect behind Toronto's sprawling underground shopping network, the world's largest by some accounts. Now, more than three decades later, Robert Millward recalls the battle Canada's most populous city waged with Montreal for subterranean supremacy.
But as Toronto's commissioner of planning and development from 1987 to 1996 wanders the mostly deserted home to 3.7 million square feet of retail known as the PATH beneath city office towers on a Friday afternoon, he realizes Canada's two largest cities have a common enemy: office workers who want to stay home. Office use in Canada remains among the world's lowest, with Toronto leading all domestic cities, meaning these underground areas sometimes fall silent, raising the question of whether to wait for the 9-to-5 crowd to return or imagine a new underground with attractions and residents to lure more people below.
6. US: Real Estate Brokers Could See Exit of Noncompetes With New FTC Ruling
The Federal Trade Commission issued a final ruling to ban the use of noncompete agreements to prevent some employees from jumping to rival businesses, a move that means a number of U.S. real estate brokers once held back from exiting their place of employment could be able to depart for new opportunities.
But it may also be some time before that final ruling takes effect, if it takes effect at all. Businesses are readying their objections to go before federal judges throughout the country, making it likely the federal ruling will remain in flux, said Mike Muskat, a co-founder of Muskat Devine law firm in Houston who specializes in labor and employment law on behalf of companies. The ruling is such a source of contention, Muskat said, he expects the matter could be tied up for years and could head to the Supreme Court.