Latest in Commercial Real Estate Tech News by CREtech

Latest Trends and Insights in Real Estate Technology

Curated daily by our industry experts. Stay informed on how tech is shaping the real estate industry with these important headlines.

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Covid-19 Pandemic Boosts Startups Behind Virtual Showings

Wall Street Journal
10/27/2020

The business of investing in tech-oriented, startup property firms took years to gain traction in the stodgy real-estate industry. But it is gaining fresh momentum during the coronavirus pandemic. As fear of exposure to the new virus is limiting the ability to visit properties and close on them, demand is booming for startup firms that provide virtual ways to do this. Revenue and investment is rising for many, especially for those in the hot residential-sales business….

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It Might Become the Scariest Part of Your Commute: The Elevator

The New York Times
10/26/2020

Buttons that you can press by just pointing at them. Others that appear to float in the air, holograms seen more in sci-fi films than office buildings. Staggered employee arrivals and departures, and the rethinking, or even elimination, of the outside lunch break.

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Fitch Downgrades WeWork to ‘CCC’

Fitch Ratings
10/26/2020

Fitch Ratings – New York – 22 Oct 2020: Fitch Ratings has downgraded WeWork Companies LLC and The We Company’s Long Term Issuer Default Ratings (LT IDR) by one notch to ‘CCC’ from ‘CCC+’. Fitch has also downgraded WeWork LLC’s Senior Unsecured Notes issue rating two notches to ‘CC’/’RR6’ from ‘CCC’/’RR5’, resolving the issue-level Rating Watch Negative.

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Gap Inc. exiting malls, to shutter 350 stores by 2024

ABC News
10/26/2020

The San Francisco-based retailer, which was for decades a fixture at shopping malls around the country, said Thursday that it will be closing 220 of its namesake Gap stores — or one-third of its store base — by early 2024. That will result in 80% of its remaining Gap stores being in off-mall locations.

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Axios: Top of the Morning

AXIOS
10/26/2020

Private equity is watching the consolidation of the North American oil and gas sector from the sidelines, instead focusing its energy efforts on renewables. Driving the news: Cenovus Energy (TSX: CVE) on Sunday agreed to buy Husky Energy (TSX: HSX) for C$3.8 billion in stock, in a deal that would create Canada’s third-largest oil and gas producer….

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Japan’s New Leader Sets Ambitious Goal of Carbon Neutrality by 2050

The New York Times
10/26/2020

The announcement, coming weeks after a similar pledge by China, will require a major overhaul of the infrastructure in Japan, which remains heavily dependent on fossil fuels.

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Once Meccas of Retail Therapy, Now Homes to Elder Americans

The New York Times
10/26/2020

George and Pat Ritzinger moved five years ago to a community that few would initially consider a retirement mecca: a former shopping center site in Wayzata, Minn. They had spent the previous 15 years in a townhouse development in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area, yet found the atmosphere chilly.

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‘There’s No Vaccine For Climate Change’: Here’s What CRE Can Do To Help Save The Planet

Bisnow
10/26/2020

In the wake of COVID-19, architects and their clients have all understandably been focused on air quality and cleanliness. But as massive as the pandemic has been in both scope and scale, it barely registers as a crisis when contrasted with climate change, experts say.

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TODAY AT 12 PM ET: October Virtual Demo Day

CREtech
10/26/2020

Tune in to our live Virtual Demo Day on Tuesday, October 27 to experience demos from the most innovative tech companies in commercial real estate. Virtual Demo Day is the best way to discover startups that you need to know about without leaving your desk. Plus, it’s FREE! Register now.

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‘Billion Dollar Loser’ Recounts WeWork’s Big Dreams and Its Harsh Wake-Up Call

The New York Times
10/23/2020

It took reading 50 pages of “Billion Dollar Loser,” Reeves Wiedeman’s new book about WeWork and its co-founder Adam Neumann, before I wrote my first “insufferable” in the margin alongside an especially galling anecdote — a testament to how steady and restrained Wiedeman’s book is. He could have easily let loose from the beginning with a sensationalist narrative of exploitation and degradation, but he bides his time, allowing his evidence to accrue.

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