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Capital Markets

A Competitive Finance Debate

In a session at ULI's 2012 Spring Meeting, ULI members Glenn Grimaldi, executive vice president of HSBC; David D. Clark, senior vice president, Real Estate, Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Co.; and Kevin Pivnick, managing director, Deutsche Bank, all described a healthy mortgage market in which only the long shots are having trouble finding funding these days.

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Capital Markets

Monday's Numbers: May 7, 2012

The Trepp LLC survey showed spreads widening as much as 15 basis points for no apparent reason we know of except, possibly, the continuing crises in Europe and concerns that the U.S. will catch their flu. Fortunately, money is plentiful with a majority of the widening of spreads offset by the lower yields on 10-year Treasury bonds.

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Economy, Markets, & Trends

Making Money in Residential Real Estate

Panelists at ULI’s Spring Meeting agreed that strategies never considered before are worth considering now in this market in which renting seems to have more appeal than buying. However, George Casey, chief executive officer at Orleans Homebuilders, noted that Orleans is building fewer models and foot traffic is slower per community, but sales are greater.

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Infrastructure & Transit

Infrastructure 2012 Highlights Innovation

Constrained public budgets— combined with lack of action at the federal level—are causing states, regions and cities across the U.S. to seek innovative infrastructure approaches and solutions. Infrastructure 2012: Spotlight on Leadership looks at an overall decline in infrastructure funding globally, and it focuses on solutions in the U.S., citing six case studies.

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ULI Spring Meeting

Can America Eliminate Its Addiction to Fossil Fuels and Do So Without Congress?

Amory Lovins, cofounder of the Rocky Mountain Institute, told an audience of ULI members at ULI's 2012 Spring Meeting, that there are numerous ways to reduce use of fossil fuels. Doing so, corporate America could earn a $5 trillion savings in net present value and boost the economy by 150 percent.

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2012 ULI Spring Meeting

End the Ongoing Partisan Deadlock--or Face Economic Crisis

Erskine Bowles, former head of a presidential fiscal commission, tells ULI leaders: “If we make tough choices and get our fiscal house in order, America can compete with the best and brightest in the world. But I’m equally confident that if we don’t, this country is on its way to being a second-rate power.”
Infrastructure & Transit

Public Art in Transit

The intangible benefits of public art are well-known, but often overlooked. Read how public art at two downtown Los Angeles transit-oriented developments came to generate ongoing income for a private developer and local government.
Economy, Market, & Trends

ULI Real Estate Business Barometer -- May 2012

The top 12 trends in this month’s Barometer highlight a tepid economy, uneven signals in the capital markets, and a housing market on a low simmer. Still, compared with a year ago, 76 percent of the key indicators in the Barometer are better and only 23 percent are worse.

New Developments

Craig Thomas: Viewing Real Estate Through “The Econosphere”

April 27, 2012

You cannot improve the market, but you can improve the information you rely upon, says The Econosphere author Craig Thomas.
The Great Recession: A Slayer of Sprawl

April 5, 2012

John McIlwain, ULI senior resident fellow for housing, says new Census data on areas of population growth is further proof that this is the century of urbanization.

Sustainability

Smart Growth Not Enough?

The fact that we are increasing dwelling units per acre, reducing vehicle miles traveled per capita, and reducing tons of carbon emissions compared to sprawl does not mean that we are making great people habitat, posits Kaid Benfield, director, Sustainable Communities, Washington, D.C. Benfield says it is time to focus more on the quality of what we are building.
Public Spaces

Playing along the Railroad Tracks

Where does a city begin when it wants to develop public areas as a catalyst for revitalization when it is not located on a river, a lake, or an ocean? Birmingham, Alabama began with its railroad tracks, and that was just the beginning.

Development & Business

Community Development Outlook

Members of ULI’s Community Development Council speak about the impact of the slow economy, the increased appeal of smaller sites in denser locations, consumers’ current amenity preferences, the impact of ethnic and demographic changes, and the rising demand for housing that can accommodate multiple generations.
Planning & Design

Guiding Those Who Teach the Guide Dogs

Members of the Young Leaders Group of ULI Orange County/Inland Empire put their skills to work helping those who help the disabled. They offered advice to Guide Dogs of the Desert, a Riverside County, California, nonprofit that pairs service dogs with people who are blind, with a plan for expanding its live-in training campus.