Hampton Roads October 2020 – Key Take-Aways

• In the legal world, there are lots of loan modifications and extensions; lot’s of refinances are needed.  Loans that are nearing default are getting extensions but requiring additional guarantees or credit.
• The insurance market is continuing to harden, with a lot of direct impact coming from the number of $1B+ natural disaster events occurring.
• Kimley Horn reports a lot of pricing and proposals going out, but very little work being awarded likely tied to the pending election.
• Colliers has conducted a follow up survey to office occupiers about the future of office space use – results are due back in and will be shared with the group in November.  It is likely the office market won’t see a real, true impact until 2021 and the changes that are likely to happen will be structural.
• For multi-family, September was a big month finishing up the backlog in the pipeline; now the focus is on finding new business.  There is a lot of cash and interested investors, but very few owners are selling at this point.  Pricing is going up due to demand, spurred on by low interest rates.
• Retail is a mixed bag.  Grocery anchored centers are doing well; Home Improvement stores and Dollar Tree’s are also strong performers.  Smaller retail deals are selling as local and regional banks are opening up more.
• Property Management remains in the spotlight as companies reopen and look to provide some comfort re: safety for their employees.
• The Colliers team is conducting Civil Unrest Training, to include securing buildings and safety and security of facilities.
• Whiting Turner is continuing to hire and grow into new industries they were not heavily into before including manufacturing and industrial.