DEVELOPER TURNS TO CROWDFUNDING FOR CRE FUND

INTEREST IN RURAL LAND ON THE RISE

RETAIL REITS IMPROVE RENT COLLECTIONS IN 4Q2020

HOSPITALITY ’ S RECOVERY LOOKS SLOW BUT STEADY

Investing in commercial real estate has typically been associated with institutions and high net-worth individuals . Crowdfunding works for startups and small projects , but the practice hasn ’ t made much headway into CRE . While retail investment in stocks made headlines earlier this year with the GameStop saga , CRE is a different market — one that ’ s less liquid with longer investment timelines .

But real estate developer Jamestown hopes to prove the viability of crowdfunded CRE with the first direct-to-consumer platform to be launched by a global real estate institution . Interested parties can participate in Jamestown Invest 1 LLC at a minimum of $ 2,500 . The fund acquired a majority interest in the Southern Dairies at Ponce City Market in Atlanta , a historic dairy distribution plant that has been converted into an 80,000-sf boutique office space and is occupied by ten tenants .

Social distancing was a concept that rocketed from obscurity into our collective consciousness in 2020 . But the growing desire for distance wasn ’ t kept to grocery lines and backyard barbecues . Brokers reported increased interest in rural land markets . According to a survey from National Land Realty , 22 percent of land brokers saw a significant increase in business , while 33.6 percent experienced some growth .

Considering such interest , land values increased during 2020 , with 44.5 percent of responding brokers seeing values increasing by 1 to 5 percent . A lot of interest focused on recreational land along with farmland .

“ Investors rediscovered a safe haven in land real estate in 2020 , which made for a very good year for land sales — with record-breaking volume in the second half of the year ,” said Jason Walter , CEO of National Land , in a prepared statement .

Though many retail outlets outside of grocery and home essentials faced a difficult 2020 , malls increased rent payments to REITs throughout the year . According to data collected by S & P Global Market Intelligence , 11 REITs focusing on shopping centers all reported increases in rent collections in 4Q2020 compared to the previous two quarters .

Federal Realty Investment Trust reported collecting 89 percent of rent in 4Q2020 , the lowest figure of the 11 REITs , compared to 85 percent in 3Q2020 and 68 percent in 2Q2020 . Kite Realty Group Trust topped the list in rental collections at 95 percent , followed by Retail Properties of American Inc . ( 94.1 percent ) and SITE Centers Corp . ( 94 percent ).

Office , industrial , and casino REITs all reported higher rates of rent payments ( with the three casino REITs all reporting 100 percent ), though the mall-focused REITs saw improving rent collections throughout 2020 .

The travel and leisure sector was arguably hardest hit during the initial COVID-19 disruption in 2020 . Sustained by an expected volume of guests , hotels saw reservations disappear virtually overnight . But now that vaccinations are available , projections for the sector offer a light at the end of the tunnel .

According to a February report from Moody ’ s Analytics , national revenue per available room ( RevPAR ) will approach pre-COVID levels by 2025 . Thanks to Moody ’ s Analytics projections of 5 percent growth in GDP in both 2021 and 2022 , hotels will recover with a resumption of leisure and business travel , even if RevPAR will not entirely recover until the end of the decade .

Major metro areas such as San Francisco ( -65 percent ) and Chicago ( -61 percent ) will see the sharpest declines in RevPAR from 4Q2019 to 4Q2021 , while Knoxville , Tenn . ( -3 percent ), and Fort Myers , Fla . ( -15 percent ), will be the least affected .

This page , left to right : Onurdongel , Ricky Kresslein , TommL , Istankov