Newsline

Economist Peter Linneman delivered a pragmatic assessment of the economy during a recent Walker Webcast at Institutional Real Estate, Inc. (IREI)’s VIP Americas event in a market grappling with high interest rates, uneven fundamentals, and economic crosscurrents. In a conversation with Willy Walker, Walker & Dunlop CEO, Linneman offered a sharp, data-driven view of macroeconomic conditions and their implications for commercial real estate investors.

Blue Vista Capital Management has announced the appointments of Andrew Schaffler and Justin Yagerman as managing directors – build-to-rent (BTR).

Heitman and Erben, an Australian property development and investment firm, have acquired Lot 19 at Perth City Link from the Western Australia State Government.

Schroders Capital and University Pension Plan Ontario (UPP) have formed a strategic partnership to invest in high-quality logistics and industrial real estate across Northwestern Europe. 

Manova Partners has named Jitka Steinmetz as its new COO, further expanding its management team.

Investors in Asia Pacific are preparing to deploy more capital into the commercial real estate market in 2026, supported by improving occupier fundamentals, reduced supply pipelines and gradually easing financing conditions, according to CBRE’s 2026 Asia Pacific Investor Intentions Survey.

Continued resilience in new construction starts has prompted Yardi Matrix to increase its forecast for U.S. multifamily completions in 2026, 2027 and 2028.

Avanath Capital Management has acquired Retreat at Valencia, 336-unit mixed-income apartment community near downtown Orlando.

Ekta Patel has been appointed COO at 11North Partners. Based in the firm’s New York office, Patel will oversee firmwide operations, coordination across asset management, and platform infrastructure, supporting the firm’s existing portfolio while enabling future growth initiatives.

The NCREIF PREA Reporting Standards has published Increasing Transparency in Performance Metrics for Private Closed-End Funds, offering long-awaited industry guidance aimed at enhancing clarity, consistency and comparability in performance reporting for private closed-end real estate funds.

Driven by motivated sellers, increased engaged buyers, and greater availability of debt, conditions are aligning for investors who can focus on cash-flow growth and disciplined execution, according to Morgan Stanley’s 2026 Real Estate Outlook.

Juniper Square has appointed Jason Sheller as global head of go-to-market, fund administration. Sheller joins the company at a pivotal moment of growth and will lead the global go-to-market strategy for the company’s fund administration business.

Global logistics real estate rents declined in 2025, with a 2.3 percent drop in the first half of the year as many customers delayed leasing decisions amid economic and trade policy uncertainty. In the second half of the year, leasing activity picked up and rent declines narrowed to about 1.4 percent, indicating increased market engagement.

U.S. office market is showing signs of recovery, supported by positive return-to-office trends, increased leasing activity, limited new construction and stabilizing interest rates. It notes that current market dislocation has created opportunities for senior first mortgage lending with historically attractive yields and conservative loan structures. CIM Group argues that lower property valuations and stronger credit metrics may offer enhanced downside mitigation for lenders in the office sector.

Local: Residential has acquired a 355-unit build-to-rent apartment development at 15–37 Bank St. in South Melbourne from Hines, with a stabilized asset value of A$370 million (approximately $259 million), reported Australian-based media outlets.

Colliers Singapore’s Capital Markets & Investment Services has closed the sale of the prime industrial property at 51 Tuas View Link in Singapore for S$121.1 million (approximately $90 million). PGIM Real Estate and Northstar Capital acquired the asset from Urban Park Pte Ltd, a unit of Far East Organization.

13th Floor Investments, a South Florida-based developer, and Rockpoint have formed a joint venture to develop Link at Boca, a new mixed-use multifamily community located in Boca Raton, Fla.

Canyon Partners Real Estate and MG Properties (MGP) have acquired Shift Apartments, a multifamily building in the Downtown submarket of San Diego.

Clarion Partners Europe has acquired from Affinius Capital, in partnership with its wholly owned development subsidiary Mountpark, Mountpark Chartres 2 in Illiers-Combray in the Centre-Val de Loire region of France.

Starwood Capital Group has appointed John Gonnella as senior managing director and head of U.S. asset management, effective April 20.