Fed opts for a rate hike hiatus. On September 20, the Federal Open Market Committee announced there would be no change in the federal funds rate, while the institution would continue to reduce securities holdings. This will maintain the current lower bound of 5.25 percent first set in July, and mark the second meeting in 2023 during which the Fed chose to forgo a rate increase. Labor market dynamics played a major role in the… Read More

A soft landing is the favored outlook, but could the Fed still cause a recession? The key indicators investors should be monitoring How investors can position for what’s ahead

The federal reserve held rates flat for September – What comes next? Why the Federal Reserve’s decision could be a watershed moment for CRE How flat rates could influence the CRE lending climate

Core pricing pressures subside further. The headline consumer price index rose 3.7 percent year-over-year in August, the second month in a row that the metric ticked up. While this could suggest a re-acceleration of price hikes, the cyclical nature of the increase suggests that inflation is still broadly slowing. Over one-half of the rise was due to a…

Consumers prioritize necessities as debt builds. Overall U.S. retail sales rose 2.5 percent year-over-year in August; however, core spending — which excludes gasoline and auto purchases — ascended 3.6 percent during the same interval. Momentum over the past year led to a core sales record in August of nearly $509 billion. The restaurant and bar, as well as the health and personal care, segments were largely responsible for the pronounced annual gain in core sales, with… Read More

Steady return of urban activity keeps conditions tight. Vacancy held unchanged at 1.8 percent across the city during the second quarter of 2023, marking a 21-month span during which the rate has remained at this two-decade low. Conditions are still tightening in Midtown and Midtown South, as increasing office usage has brought some professionals back to central Manhattan neighborhoods. Placer.ai data indicates that midweek visits to offices in the borough reached 68 percent of the…

Do election years have an impact on interest rates? Which key variables will play a crucial role in determining the future stability of cap rates? What steps should investors take to adapt to the potential “new normal” in interest rates?

Why the Fed’s dual mandate is the most important force driving CRE today Why slowing job creation is good for CRE Will the Fed raise rates again this year?

Labor market dynamics becoming more familiar. Job growth in August tallied 187,000 positions, one of the slowest months for hiring in the pandemic recovery period. Headcounts declined in the information and transportation sectors, heavily influenced by Hollywood strikes and the bankruptcy of trucking company Yellow. Even without these one-off factors, the labor market is displaying clear signs of returning to…

Bloomberg Features Marcus & Millichap CEO Hessam Nadji The Challenged Office Sector – What’s Needed For Recovery • Why commercial real estate distress on banks may be overstated • Which office properties are performing best and worst • Which property types face the lowest distress risk and why • The valuation disconnect – how prices are adjusting