Kamala Harris laid out an economic platform today. 

Most relevant to CRE among the dozen proposals she will unveil at a rally in Raleigh, North Carolina, is her housing agenda.

Harris said she would encourage the construction of 3 million units in four years via a tax incentive for developers and provide $25K in down payment support for homebuyers. The goal is to address the high cost of housing, which voters say is one of their primary concerns.

Other policies include a $6K tax credit for parents during a child’s first year of life and expanding the earned income tax credit, eliminating medical debt and banning price gouging for food. 

The construction incentives will be more welcome to the housing industry than some previous policies laid out by Harris and President Joe Biden. Shortly before withdrawing from the race, Biden proposed a 5% rent cap for landlords owning more than 50 units. Harris hasn’t said if she will pursue similar measures. The housing industry came out hard against caps, saying they ultimately prevent developers from building new units, which both presidential candidates agree are sorely needed.

While Harris largely is focusing on regulatory changes to tackle high prices for homes, food and more, Donald Trump is looking at deregulation to solve the same problem.

Trump’s housing platform calls for opening parts of federal lands to home construction, providing tax incentives and down payment support for first-time homebuyers, and cutting through regulations and stringent zoning that put upward pressure on housing costs. He has also said he will “reduce mortgage rates by slashing inflation.”

— Catie Dixon, Jay Rickey, Kayla Carmicheal and Mark F. Bonner

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On Our Radar

• Homebuilding continues to slow. There were 1.4 million housing permits issued in July, down 4% from the prior month and 7% year-over-year, according to data released this morning by the Census Bureau. Housing starts were likewise down, at 1.2 million groundbreakings last month, coming in 6.8% lower than June and 16% below July 2023. Construction is at its lowest level since May 2020.

• So, yeah, homebuilder confidence is down. The National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index released today shows confidence fell two points to 39 in August, the lowest reading so far this year. The problem: a lack of affordability and buyers holding back due to interest rates and high home prices. NAHB also reported that 33% of builders dropped prices this month to boost sales, up from 31% in July and 29% in June. The average price cut was 6%.

• Tomorrow is the deadline for Realtors to implement the National Association of Realtors’s new practices. The NAR’s new guidance came as part of the settlement agreement when its commissions practices were ruled to be anticompetitive. Agents will sign contracts with buyers before showing them any houses, and the multiple listing service will no longer display the buyer’s agent’s commission. Tomorrow is also the date home sellers taking part in the Sitzer-Burnett class-action suit begin getting notifications of what the settlement means for them.

• Happy two-year anniversary to the Inflation Reduction Act. The program led a boom in projects related to green energy — investment doubled from 2019 to $100B this year and is expected to nearly double again by 2030. It also added $800B to the federal deficit through 2033. The program’s future likely depends on the presidential election — Kamala Harris is expected to expand or at least retain it, while Donald Trump has said he will kill or gut it despite growing Republican support for green energy tax credits.

• 33 days until interest rate D-Day. Predictions are unchanged from yesterday, with literally no one thinking the Fed will raise or keep interest rates unchanged at the September FOMC meeting. CME’s FedWatch tool shows a 74.5% chance of a 25-basis-point drop and 25.5% chance of a 50-basis-point drop based on interest rate trader activity. 

This Morning's News

PROPTECH — VTS Announces Major Workforce Reduction (TRD): Proptech leader VTS, which reached a $1.7B valuation two years ago after closing a $125M funding round led by CBRE, is cutting 20% of its staff. Learn about the layoffs.

INDUSTRIAL — Texas Instruments Gets $1.6B For Chip Expansion (Texas Instruments): Texas Instruments has secured a commitment for up to $1.6B under the CHIPS and Science Act. The funding supports TI's commitment to invest more than $18B through 2029, and will lead to three new plants to manufacture wafers for semiconductors, two in Sherman, Texas, and one in Lehi, Utah. Get the details about TI's expansion.

M&A — EQT To Acquire PropertyGuru (Bloomberg): Investment firm EQT has agreed to purchase New York-listed PropertyGuru for $1.1B. This acquisition of the online real estate company is part of EQT's strategy to capitalize on the growing demand for digital real estate services in Asia. Learn more about the acquisition here.

Today’s Deep Dive: Get Smart. Get Fast. Get Competitive. Here's How Data Center Brokers Work In CRE's Hottest Asset Class

It wasn’t that long ago that data centers were something an industrial broker did on the side. No more.

As data centers have morphed from a few floors in a mixed-use building to customized, football-field-sized nodes of computing technology, so has the job of the specialized corps of brokers who sell server space.

Technical knowledge is critical. Competition is fierce. Deals are breakneck processes that must be closed in 30 days. Brokers are likely to get jerked around by inexperienced sellers or developers presenting pointless proposals.

But the industry is booming, and there is big money to be made, so tenant rep brokers are pouring into the field.

“I'd say those who are trying to get in on the tenant side, it tends to not work out unless they're all-in,” JLL Managing Director of the U.S. Data Center Markets team Andy Cvengros said. “You need to be all-in on how to support a client, how to track this stuff, how to manage those transactions, because they're not the same at all as other sectors.”

Read the full story here.

DATA CENTERS – Data Center Vacancies Plunge Amid Soaring Demand And Supply Constraints (Bisnow): Vacancy rates in European data centers are approaching historic lows, prompting data center operators to expedite development plans. Supply chain issues and insufficient power infrastructure continue to pose challenges. Discover the discrepancy between data center supply and demand.

HEALTHCARE — Another Delay In Steward Health's Hospital Sales (Boston Globe): Negotiations over Steward Health's proposed hospital sales have been delayed yet again. The previous owners of the leases on the hospitals’ land and property, Medical Properties Trust and Macquarie Infrastructure Partners, have turned the properties over to the lender, Apollo, which has taken a hard line in negotiations. Another day, another delay.

FINANCE — $1.2B Refi For NYC Skyscrapers (Bloomberg): JPMorgan Chase and Elliott Investment-backed Tyko Capital have closed on a $1.2B refi of One High Line, a pair of towers on Manhattan’s west side with luxury condos and a hotel. Here's what you need to know about the towers.

DEVELOPMENT — Vanderbilt University Proposes West Palm Beach Expansion (Commercial Observer): Vanderbilt University has unveiled plans for a $520M campus in West Palm Beach. The 300K SF campus would house 1,000 students and include research centers and student accommodations. Education programs at the new campus would include business, artificial intelligence and data science. Learn about the Sunshine State expansion.

INDUSTRIAL — Investors Flock To Cold Storage Sector As Demand Heats Up (Bisnow): The cold storage sector, though still niche, is attracting investor interest due to the expansion of online grocery sales and the global supply chain's growing reliance on perishable goods logistics. Dive into the factors fueling cold storage growth.

DATA CENTERS — Google Ramps Up Texas Data Center Investment (Axios): Google said it will invest $1B to expand its data center operations in Texas. Google officials did not detail where the additional investment is going. Get the background.

MULTIFAMILY — Historic Multifamily Deliveries Prompt Rental Market Shifts (CNBC): More multifamily units were completed in June than in any month in nearly 50 years. Landlords have turned to offering concessions like free weeks of rent or free parking to attract new renters. This trend is most notable in urban areas.

HOUSING — Luxury Renovations At Sorority Houses (WSJ): Greek organizations, which typically own sorority houses on university campuses, are building larger facilities equipped with amenities like blow-dry bars and craft rooms where members can make banners and pompoms. Sororities started spending more after an enrollment spike in the 2010s. Take a look at the renovations.

RETAIL — Kroger's To Cut Costs If Albertsons Merger Goes Through (Seeking Alpha): Kroger said it will slash $1B in grocery prices if its proposed $25B merger with Albertsons wins approval. The Federal Trade Commission's trial to block the deal is scheduled to start Aug. 26. Here's what you need to know before the trial starts.

HOUSING — Navigating The New Real Estate Commission Rules (Seeking Alpha): There is the potential that sellers will save money under the new National Association of Realtors guidelines, but buyers may have to pay more in fees and real estate agents may be incentivized to focus on higher-priced homes. And it could be a while before changes happen. Dig through the impact of the NAR’s settlement agreement.

SENIOR HOUSING — Sonida Senior Living Expands With $103M Investment In Southeast U.S. (Sonida Senior Living): Sonida Senior Living is acquiring a senior housing portfolio in Florida and South Carolina for $103M, adding eight properties to its network. Get the details of the deal.

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The First Draft is produced by Director of Newsletters Jay Rickey, Managing Editor Catie Dixon, Editor-in-Chief Mark F. Bonner and Deputy Newsletter Editor Kayla Carmicheal, with an assist from ChatGPT. We’d love your feedback! Email us at firstdraft@bisnow.com.