Real Estate Technology, Home and Design
Businesswire | July 04, 2023
Alarm.com has partnered with California-based builder New Home Co. to power a suite of innovative smart home technology services for new homeowners as part of the launch of the updated smart home program called EVO. New Home Co. buyers will receive an EVO base system that includes a 7” touchscreen smart home panel, Alarm.com video doorbell, smart thermostat, smart garage opener, smart ready switches, and more, all accessible through a single app.
In 2022, New Home Co. built 790 homes, and the business has plans to aggressively expand its footprint into new markets this year with this new integrated package. The collaboration was driven by Alarm.com’s Builder Program, an award-winning initiative that facilitates new partnerships between builders and Alarm.com service providers, who will play an integral role throughout.
“We are excited to partner with New Home Co. as the power behind their suite of innovative services to offer new homeowners the best in smart home technology. Our platform provides a seamless way for builders, like New Home Co., to build and sell homes while providing a world-class smart home solution for their buyers,” said Shawn Barry, Alarm.com Vice President, Strategic Sales. “We continue to see homebuyers’ enthusiasm for smart home technology grow and we believe that our service providers offer a huge advantage for builders looking to rapidly deploy smart home solutions.”
“Through our partnership with Alarm.com, we’re offering an array of modern digital amenities to provide our buyers the systems that best meet their lifestyle needs,” said Megan Eltringham, Corporate Vice President of Marketing for New Home Co. “We’re thrilled to have Alarm.com join us in bringing the most intelligent and well-designed homes to the market.”
New Home Co. is a western regional builder and real estate development company headquartered in Irvine, Calif. It has divisions within select growth markets in California, Arizona, Colorado, Oregon, and Washington. New Home Co. is one of the most awarded homebuilders in the United States. It was named 2019 Builder of the Year by Professional Builder and is a multi-year recipient of “The Eliant” for providing the Best Overall Customer Experience in North America in the Eliant Homebuyers’ Choice Awards. New Home Co. has won hundreds of awards in the homebuilding industry for its design and planning excellence, dozens of “Community of the Year” awards, and was recognized five straight years for creating the best community or master plan in all the United States. For more information, visit NewHomeCo.com.
Alarm.com-powered systems are professionally installed and monitored and are customized for each home and family. For more information on the broader Alarm.com ecosystem of products and services, visit https://alarm.com. For more information about the Alarm.com Builder Program, visit https://alarm.com/builder.
About Alarm.com
Alarm.com is the leading platform for the intelligently connected property. Millions of consumers and businesses depend on Alarm.com's technology to manage and control their property from anywhere. Our platform integrates with a growing variety of Internet of Things (IoT) devices through our apps and interfaces. Our security, video, access control, intelligent automation, energy management, and wellness solutions are available through our network of thousands of professional service providers in North America and around the globe. Alarm.com's common stock is traded on Nasdaq under the ticker symbol ALRM. For more information, please visit alarm.com.
AboutNew Home Co.
New Home Co. is a new generation homebuilder focused on the design, construction and sale of innovative and consumer-driven homes in Southern California, Northern California, Arizona & Colorado. Founded on the belief that first and foremost, we are in the people business. Our employees are the best in the industry and the dedication of our entire organization drives our success. In August 2014, we were exceptionally pleased to be recognized as one of the “Best Places to Work” by the Orange County Business Journal and a Top Workplace by the O.C. Register.
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Market Outlook, Real Estate Investment
Businesswire | July 06, 2023
Workspace Property Trust (Workspace), the preeminent US suburban commercial office property owner and partner for the Fortune 1000, announced today that it successfully modified and extended its approximately $1.3 billion CMBS facility, securing a two-year extension for loans supported by its nearly 10 million square foot portfolio of 146 suburban office and light industrial, R&D and flex industrial properties in 14 major metropolitan markets across the US. In additional to this portfolio, Workspace owns an additional nine million Class A square feet of commercial office portfolio across 59 properties in the US.
The successful refinancing of this Workspace’s Class A portfolio is a major accomplishment in one of the most difficult commercial real estate and capital market environments in decades and reflects the strength, experience and operating performance of the Workspace management team. Iron Hound Management Company LLC served as financial advisor to Workspace.
Workspace Strengthens Its Balance Sheet To Invest in Growth
“We are thrilled to have successfully modified and extended our $1.3 billion CMBS facility with a two-year extension and significant equity participation,” said Thomas A. Rizk, co-founder and CEO of Workspace. “Getting this deal done in what many have described as the most challenging real estate market in decades was no small feat and is testament to the underlying strength of our portfolio, the resilience of the suburban office sector, the promise of our pipeline and the capabilities of Workspace’s vertically integrated national platform. With the strengthening of our balance sheet, we are now in the enviable position of driving growth by investing in our leasing operations and deploying state-of-the-market enhancements in key market locations as we double down on the opportunities in the suburbs. We appreciate the support of our lenders, partners and investors and are focused on the tremendous opportunities in front of us.”
Workspace owns and operates suburban office buildings in 14 of the top 20 US metropolitan areas, including Atlanta, Philadelphia, Dallas, Charlotte, Tampa, Phoenix, Silicon Valley, South Florida, Houston, Portland, Seattle, Minneapolis, Chicago and St. Louis. Approximately 40% of the Fortune 500 have headquarters in Workspace markets and nearly seven million square feet of the Workspace portfolio is leased by companies included in the Fortune 1000.
Workspace Suburban Markets Outperform Central Business Districts
In addition to the financing news, Workspace also released the findings of a recently conducted analysis of national real estate data that highlight the meaningful outperformance of suburban commercial office markets over downtown commercial office locations. The data set, compiled for Workspace by CBRE Strategic Investment Consulting, a global leader in commercial real estate services and investments, underscores the strength, vitality and energy of suburban office markets as employers across the country reinvent how and where people work today.
At the national level—and in key markets driving US economic growth— suburban office submarkets have outperformed central business district submarkets during each of the past three economic downturns, with smaller declines in rent growth and absorption rates and much steadier vacancy rates. This pattern has been particularly pronounced since the onset of COVID-19 and is leading to a fundamental reset in how corporate America is thinking about where and how their people should work. Based on the CBRE data, this resiliency is largely expected to persist through the current cycle, as many suburban locations continue to benefit from a rising number of occupiers and employees prioritizing the value of working closer to home.
“Workspace Property Trust is differentiated by our proven core strategy – to provide innovative and responsive real estate solutions to the Fortune 1000 in fast-growing, highly desirable suburban commercial markets across the country,” said Roger W. Thomas, co-founder, President and COO of Workspace. “In the last year, we transformed our business by doubling our footprint to more than 19 million square feet of commercial and light industrial assets in some of the most vibrant markets in the US, offering our customers lifestyle oriented, community-based working environments that are fundamental requisites for corporations today. The CBRE data we are highlighting today is a clear and resounding affirmation that today’s most progressive companies – large and small – are investing in suburban markets, reversing decades of legacy thinking.”
Mr. Rizk further stated, “New patterns of work and new demands by our tenants and their employees directly translate into the need for new long-term real estate innovation. We know the biggest single issue for our tenant partners is reducing the commuting time for their employees, allowing them to spend more time with their families. Our commitment to service and convenience and relentlessly focusing on delivering on our promise of “Work. Life. Balanced.” has solidified our partnerships with a number of Fortune 1000 organizations as they double down on their suburban footprints, investing significant dollars and resources in the lives of their team members. When Roger and I started Workspace, suburban office was a contrarian bet. The CBRE data validates what we’ve been experiencing on the ground over the last few years coming out of the pandemic: suburban office is benefitting from a foundational demographic shift to suburban submarkets in gateway metropolitan areas across the country where the quality of the work experience is the defining factor in leasing decisions.”
Suburban Markets Outperformance: National and Local Metrics
Nationally, suburban commercial office outperformed central business district commercial office in several key metrics, including vacancy, net absorption and rent growth. In 2022:
By year-end, the national vacancy rate for suburban office was 17.2% vs. 17.6% for central business districts, the first time the suburban rate has been tighter since 1989.
On net, the amount of suburban office space absorbed by occupiers in 2022 was equivalent to 0.3% of total suburban inventory. Meanwhile, downtown space was put back on the market (negative net absorption) at an amount equivalent to 0.2% of downtown inventory.
Year-over-year rent growth in the suburbs was a full percentage point higher than in central business districts -- 1.6% vs. 0.6%.
Additionally, when ranking U.S. suburban office markets across a variety of performance metrics, every Workspace market was represented within the top 15 for at least one metric, with several markets ranking in the top 15 multiple times. For example, over the past two years (Q4 2020 – Q4 2022):
Fort Lauderdale and Miami tied for the sixth-highest increase in post-pandemic rent growth among all suburban office markets, with asking rent increases of 1.7% in both markets.
Charlotte and Phoenix tied as the 11th highest in rent growth, with increases of 0.8% in both markets.
San Jose ranked second for the most square feet of suburban office space absorbed and seventh for absorption as a share of total inventory.
Other Workspace markets appearing in the top 15 for one or both of these absorption metrics were Chicago, Atlanta, Fort Lauderdale, and Miami.
Based on forecasts for the next two years (Q4 2022 – Q4 2024):
Workspace markets represented five out of the top eight suburban markets with the strongest near-term rent growth projections.
These markets include Milwaukee, Phoenix, Houston, Miami and Fort Lauderdale.
Dallas was the third-highest ranking market for the expected gap between the suburban and central business district vacancy rate – 22.4% in the Dallas suburbs vs 27.1% in the Dallas CBD.
Other Workspace markets in the top 15 across this metric include Seattle, Houston, Kansas City, St. Louis, Fort Lauderdale and Minneapolis.
About Workspace Property Trust
Workspace Property Trust is a privately held, vertically integrated, full-service commercial real estate company specializing in the ownership, management, leasing and development of office and light industrial, R&D and flex space across the US. Founded in 2015, as combined Workspace owns and operates approximately 19 million square feet of suburban office and light industrial, R&D, Flex (IRDF) properties in markets across the country, including 14 of the top 20 US metropolitan areas. For more information on Workspace, please visit www.workspaceproperty.com
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Real Estate Technology
PR News Wire | August 31, 2023
As the race to maximize AI across nearly every industry continues, TurboTenant, the leading all-in-one landlord software, recently launched a feature that harnesses AI to allow landlords to craft their rental listings. Powered by OpenAI, this new tool simplifies one of rental property management's most significant challenges.
When landlords enter basic property information, TurboTenant's AI Property Description personalizes a captivating listing description in less than five seconds.
Leveraging open-source data to pull in unique qualities that appeal to today's renters, the AI professionalizes listing descriptions and streamlines the marketing process to find quality tenants. Plus, this AI is trained to comply with the Fair Housing Act — a major win for landlords everywhere.
"Generative AI tools such as ChatGPT are like magic. You ask AI to do something, and the tool easily completes your task," said Max O'Rourke, Senior Product Manager at TurboTenant. "That's a big reason we built the AI Property Description feature with OpenAI — we want our landlords to feel like magicians when they create a new listing."
The free AI Property Description feature is the latest update to TurboTenant's versatile rental property management platform. Listings are a landlord's first chance to catch potential tenants' eyes, and this latest feature simplifies the process significantly.
According to a recent Forbes Advisory survey, over 64% of businesses report AI increases their productivity. AI Property Description is just one of the many features TurboTenant has launched to streamline, professionalize, and simplify the administrative side of being a landlord.
"Harnessing the power of AI for property description and listing title generation is just the tip of the iceberg," said O'Rourke. "Building a feature like this is just another example of TurboTenant's commitment to innovation and better serving our users."
About TurboTenant
Built by landlords for landlords, TurboTenant empowers independent property managers at every step of the rental process. More than 550,000 independent landlords nationwide enjoy TurboTenant's free, all-in-one online property management solutions. Features offered by TurboTenant include rental applications, tenant screening, property marketing, rent payments, lease agreements, and rent reporting.
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