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You are here: Home » Resources » Articles » Follow the Leader—How the Urban Multifamily Boom Could Lead Back to the Suburbs

October 25, 2017

Follow the Leader—How the Urban Multifamily Boom Could Lead Back to the Suburbs

By Frank S. Romeo, Jr.

AS THE COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE LANDSCAPE CONTINUES TO EVOLVE IN THE FACE OF SOCIAL, ECONOMIC, AND FINANCIAL CHANGES, LENDERS MUST ASSESS THEIR APPETITE…

As the commercial real estate landscape continues to evolve in the face of social, economic, and financial changes, lenders must assess their appetite for risk and perhaps re-adjust their focus. The urban living trend has been prevalent for the past 10 years and in response to that, metropolitan areas have been booming. Since 2016, there have been 10,000 new apartments in large buildings (40+ units) constructed in New York City, and another 30,000 apartments will be available by the end of 2018. With all this new inventory hitting the market in addition to the existing inventory, it seems unlikely that this pace will continue, both in regards to construction and occupancy.

As one of the US’s largest demographics, millennials have a tremendous ability to change the market. Over the past 10 years many urban areas have been transformed. Former industrial buildings and outdated downtown shops have been converted into updated multifamily apartments with shopping, work, and recreation all within walking distance, to accommodate the demand of consumers who want the live/work/play lifestyle. These urban life centers have been the focus of this large group of consumers, as well as lenders, developers, and building owners. As a result, suburban markets have suffered. Increased interest in urban areas has led to decreased levels of suburban residential development. This phenomenon, coupled with work-from-home policies and e-commerce, has had a negative impact on suburban office and retail. But millennials are growing up, and changing the market with them.

Continue reading the GlobeSt blog here.

About the Authors

Frank S. Romeo, Jr.

Frank S. Romeo, Jr.

President
Frank S. Romeo, Jr. is a respected leader in the commercial real estate due diligence industry thanks to his deep knowledge of his clients’ business goals and perspectives as well as his technical environmental and engineering matters. A New Jersey native and President of Partner Engineering and Science, Inc., Mr. Romeo manages sixteen national client managers and all technical project managers on the east coast, which includes Partner’s offices in Boston, New York, New Jersey, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Charlotte, and Rocky Hill, CT. He heads up Partner Engineering and Science’s East Coast Operations. He has managed thousands of commercial real estate projects and successfully led Partner’s expansion into the engineering design space. He was named as one of Real Estate Forum Magazine’s Forty Under 40 in 2012. Mr. Romeo has performed and managed well over 5,000 environmental site assessments for residential, commercial and industrial properties throughout the United States and internationally. He was a Client Manager at a national due diligence firm where he managed over $25M worth of due diligence projects over his five-year tenure. He was instrumental in several of Partner’s key acquisitions, including LandAmerica Assessment Corporation, Continental Surveying, and Birdsall Services Group, all of which have served as pivotal to Partner’s growth.

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