Nontraded real-estate investment trusts, one of the few ways for individuals to get direct exposure to office towers, warehouses, hotels and other commercial properties, raised a record $36.4 billion last year and are on track to nearly match that level this year.
Office Vacancy
In the second quarter, the U.S. downtown office vacancy rate surpassed the suburban vacancy rate for the first time in decades. Vacancies fell slightly to 16.8% in the suburbs and rose to 17% in city centers.
Private RE Allocations
Private real-estate funds currently hold 23% of their investments in offices, down from 34% three years ago. These funds’ holdings in retail space have fallen to 10% from 17% over the same period. Meanwhile, industrial properties have grown to account for 31% of those private real-estate funds’ investments and stakes in airports, highways and utilities, so-called infrastructure assets, have grown to 4.1%.
Home Investors
Investors hit their all-time high of 93,700 homes purchased in Q3 2021. The second quarter of 2022 was lower at 87,500 U.S. homes, but it was still up 5.9% over the comparable period in 2021, and investors continue to buy more homes than they did pre-pandemic.
Commodities
Exchange-traded products linked to commodities recorded their biggest outflow ever in July as investors pulled a net $11.2 billion out of the funds.
Intel Brookfield
Intel has struck a $30 billion funding partnership with Brookfield Asset Management to help finance its massive factory expansion ambitions.
MAR
Marriott opens expansive new headquarters despite rise of hybrid working.
Existing Home Sales
U.S. existing home sales fell in July for the sixth straight month, the longest streak of declines in more than eight years, as higher mortgage rates and a shortage of homes for sale are cooling this once red-hot market.
RV Sales
RV manufacturers shipped over a record 600,000 vehicles in 2021. This year is on track to be the second-biggest year with more than 500,000 unit shipments.
FTC Regulation
The FTC issued 42 letters of investigation over mergers or similar transactions during the 2021 fiscal year, almost double the number for 2020 and the highest in more than 10 years.