Commercial News Edition | WORLD PROPERTY JOURNAL

Factors influencing the U.S. grocery industry points to a near-term future with a fully automated checkout process, a greater emphasis on prepared meals.

The level of commercial/multifamily mortgage debt outstanding in the U.S. rose by $45.4 billion (1.3 percent) in the first quarter of 2019.

According to a new report from CBRE, the growth of online grocery sales has the U.S. market for cold-storage warehouses poised for strong growth, potentially creating demand for up to 100 million sq. ft. of industrial cold-storage space over the next five years.

Commercial and multifamily mortgage loan originations rose 12 percent in the first quarter compared to the same period last year. Originations the first three months of the year were 34 percent lower than the fourth quarter of 2018.

According to CBRE Research, commercial real estate lending activity in the U.S. was strong in the first quarter of 2019, with equity and debt markets calmed by the Federal Reserve's decision to hold firm on rates.

According to the Urban Land Institute's Center for Capital Markets and Real Estate, the outlook for the U.S. economy, real estate capital markets and real estate fundamentals remains positive in 2019, but is expected to moderate over the next three years.

The recent 7.1 magnitude earthquake that stunned Mexico City (and surrounding states of Mexico, Morelos and Puebla) is now having a strong impact on Mexico's commercial real estate market.

A vast majority of real estate investors intend to increase their property acquisitions in 2016.

London's West End is the world's most expensive office market for the third consecutive year, retaining its title ahead of runner-up Hong Kong.

The property division of Carrefour Argentina has opened Terrazas de Mayo, a new shopping centre valued at $29 million,

Money will continue to flow into real estate from across the capital markets worldwide, but investors should be increasingly concerned about getting caught late in the cycle

Fundamentals are improving across many office markets in The Americas, Asia Pacific and Europe as we head into 2015.

Investment into the UK Student Accommodations (PBSA), investment-grade private rented sector (PRS) and senior living rental sectors is expected to reach £146bn ($185bn) by 2025, rising from £87.3bn ($110bn) in 2019.

More than 560,000 students applied to start a full-time undergraduate course at UK universities for the 2019/20 academic year, according to the latest applications data from UCAS. This was nearly 2,500 more applications than at the same point last year and the first year-on-year increase in applications in three years.

According to Knight Frank's latest Farmland Index, the average value of bare agricultural land in England and Wales remained virtually unchanged in the first three months of 2019.

According to JLL, national investment deals greater than €1million ($1.13m) in Ireland's commercial property investment market totaled close to €600 million ($675m) in Q1 2019 across 31 deals.

According to Knight Frank's London Report, London retained its title as the world's top destination for investment in commercial real estate in 2018.

According to JLL, the overall office take-up in 2018 amounted to 1.39m sq. m, being flat year-over-year. Strong demand and low completions have led to growth of Class A and B+ rents, by 6.3% and 3.2% respectively over the course of last year.

Rising cost of leasing prime office space accelerated across the globe due to continued economic growth, job gains and limited availability of prime space in certain markets.

According to global real estate consultant JLL, commercial real estate investment in Asia Pacific was up 14% in the first quarter of 2019, setting a new record of $45 billion in sales volume.

In 2018, flexible workspace centre supply in Kuala Lumpur grew by 36%, making it the fastest growing key city in the APAC region, outpacing fast-growing markets in Gurugram, Chennai, Brisbane, Hong Kong, Sydney and Singapore.

Australia's industrial and office sectors are set to experience the double-digit returns in 2019, making them forecast to be the highest performing asset classes.

Based on JLL's latest whitepaper Shenzhen's Tech Prosperity Drives Office Demand, technology companies are spurring global demand for office space, and this phenomenon is particularly pronounced in Shenzhen, China.

According to Knight Frank's latest Global Outlook Report, Hong Kong will retain its title as the world's most expensive office market despite rents being forecast to decrease in 2019.

With positive government interventions to bring in more investors and diversify Bahrain's real estate market, retail remains a significant area of growth in the Kingdom's property sector.

The recently announced Emirates Towers Business Park is set to become Dubai's most defining commercial development in over 10 years.

Dubai's vision to diversify its economy further and establish itself as a thriving global business hub has accelerated business activity in a number of innovative industries, in turn spurring a new stream of demand for industrial space.

A slowing rate of decline across all sectors of the Dubai real estate market suggests increasing stability and the expectation of the market 'bottoming out' before the end of 2017, but the planned introduction of VAT on January 1, 2018 is already causing nervousness amongst existing commercial tenants.

According to international real estate consultant Cluttons, the global economic anxiety and growth slowdown across regional markets has played a significant role in the decreased demand for industrial real estate in Dubai.

According to CBRE Group, Middle East investment in the global commercial real estate sector reached nearly $10 billion in the first half of 2016.