Real Estate and Development

A Record $601B in CRE Loans Closed in 2019

Before COVID-19 hit, the commercial real estate lending market was sure on a strong run. A record $600.6 billion of commercial real estate and multifamily loans in 2019, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association's (MBA) 2019 Commercial Real Estate/Multifamily Finance… more

March Housing Starts Plunge

March new-housing starts fell 23.1 percent from the prior month, according the the U.S. Census Bureau, hitting just over 1.2 million. However, that number was a 1.4 increase from March 2019. Meanwhile, housing completions also dropped, falling 6.1 percent month… more

Retail Sales Plunge in March

Retail sales in the United States fell 8.7 percent in March from the prior month and were down 6.2 percent year over year, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.  The plunge was due to impact from COVID-19. Clothing and accessories… more

Stimulus Check Would Cover Most KC Mortgages

More than half of Kansas City-area homeowners would be able to make a monthly mortgage payment and and cover their utilities with a $1,200 stimulus check, while a vast majority could make those expenditures with two checks totaling $2,400. Kansas… more

KC’s Industrial Vacancy Stays Low

The industrial commercial real estate sector was still on track during the first quarter, according to a recent CBRE report.  Vacancy rates were at 4.6 percent, the same as they were during the previous quarter, says the commercial real estate… more

Q&A With … Michael Sonnenberg, NAI Heartland

Michael Sonnenberg is a commercial real estate realtor at NAI Heartland, in Overland Park, where he is primarily focused currently on office and medical office properties. Q: How does the COVID-19 situation compare to the Great Recession and the challenges… more

Tenant-Advocacy Group Calls for Rent Moratorium

KC Tenants, a tenant-advocacy group, is calling on Missouri Gov. Mike Parson to institute a rent and mortgage moratorium, due to economic struggles residents are facing during the COVID-19 pandemic. The organization is calling on people to sign a petition… more

Bill Gates-Backed Venture Moving HQ to Lenexa City Center

Oak River Farms, an agribusiness company reportedly backed by Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, is moving its headquarters from Louisiana to Lenexa City Center, reported trade publication REBusiness. The report says that Oak River will take up just under 4,600 square… more

A Death Punch for WeWork?

Office co-working company WeWork has some very prominent spaces in Downtown Kansas City. It has a location in the Crossroads' Corrigan Station development and recently took 101,000 square feet in what is now known as the Lightwell Building, at 1100… more

Analysts: AMC Near Bankruptcy

Analysts are saying that Leawood-based AMC Theatres is close to facing bankruptcy, though the company has not released a statement confirming that is the case. Last month, the company said it would close all of its 1,000 cinemas in the… more