Blackstone has agreed to acquire private Apartment Income REIT for about $10 billion and will invest another $400 million to improve these properties. AIR Communities owns 76 upscale rental housing communities that are primarily in coastal markets, including Miami, Los Angeles, and Boston. This acquisition is Blackstone’s largest transaction in the multifamily market.
Markets
Treasury yields jumped and stock prices gyrated following the jobs report. Investors are torn between wanting a strong economy to support further corporate earnings growth and wanting a weaker jobs market that will give the Federal Reserve the green light to begin cutting interest rates.
Rate Cuts
Chair Jerome Powell said stronger-than-anticipated economic activity this year hasn’t changed the Federal Reserve’s broad expectation that declining inflation will allow for interest-rate cuts this year.
Retirement Targets
It would take $1.46 million to retire comfortably, according to a recent survey of 4,588 adults released by financial-services company. That is up from $1.27 million a year ago. And over $1 million more than the average survey participant’s nest egg.
Dollar-Store Real Estate
Due largely to occupancy costs, Dollar General, located mostly in rural areas plans expansion, while the more urban-focused Family Dollar will close hundreds of stores.
Senior Housing
Private-pay senior-housing communities average rate was at 85.1% in the 31 largest U.S. markets for the fourth quarter of 2023. While that is still 2 percentage points below the first quarter of 2020, it is up from its pandemic low point, 77.8% in the first half of 2021. Rent increases, meanwhile, have been outpacing inflation, with independent living costing an average initial rate of $4,126 a month in December and the more intensive assisted-living units costing $6,422.
CRE Values
Commercial property values have fallen 21% on average since the Fed began raising interest rates two years ago.
BX Hospitality
Blackstone has about $25 billion invested in U.S. hospitality assets, excluding its gaming business and plans to be more active this year, buying between $4 billion and $5 billion worth of hotel acquisitions in 2024. Blackstone is also focused on reinvesting about $2 billion into its existing hotel portfolio, including the Hotel Del Coronado and Grand Wailea Resort.
Office Delinquency
The office delinquency rate on mortgages that have been converted into securities has soared to 6.63%, more than triple the 1.87% rate in January 2020.
McDonalds Krispy Kreme
McDonald’s will start rolling out Krispy Kreme donuts in the second half of this year, and they will be available all over the country by the end of 2026.