2 Million-Square-Foot Project Baccara Data Center Endorsed for Approval in Maricopa County, Arizona
Project Baccara, a 2‑million‑square‑foot hyperscale data‑center campus backed by DigitalBridge and developed by Takanock, has been endorsed for approval by Maricopa County’s planning and zoning commission. The site will house two one‑million‑square‑foot data centers and a 700 MW natural‑gas power plant, requiring a military‑compatibility permit due to its proximity to Luke Air Force Base. Final approval rests with the county Board of Supervisors in early May, while local residents have organized opposition. If built, the project could generate hundreds of construction jobs and long‑term technical positions.
Make Housing More Affordable
The Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR) published a policy brief titled “Make Housing More Affordable” on April 13, 2026. It highlights that roughly 30 percent of renters and 12 percent of homeowners are cost‑burdened, affecting more than 7 million U.S. households. The brief...
SEGRO and Berkeley Secure Three Leases for V-Park Grand Union
SEGRO and the Berkeley Group have signed three new leases at the V‑Park Grand Union development in Park Royal, north‑west London. The agreements total more than 8,000 sq ft and involve pharmaceutical distributor Pharmium, frozen‑snack maker Hidden Fruits and bakery chain Café De Nata....
Northwood Ravin Adding to Charlotte’s Providence Row
Northwood Ravin is expanding its Providence Row development in Charlotte with a new phase that will add 144 apartment units and 26 townhomes. The addition will raise the total rental inventory across the site to 829 units, complementing the 326‑unit...
Home Sales Fell in March as Weak Job Growth Dampened Buyer Confidence
Existing‑home sales fell 3.6% in March, slipping to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 3.98 million as weak job growth and higher mortgage rates dented buyer confidence. Condo transactions dropped 7.9% year‑over‑year while single‑family sales were essentially flat. Despite the sales...
Without Data Centers, Nonresidential Construction Would Be Down by 12.7%
Data centers drove March nonresidential construction growth. The Dodge Momentum Index rose 1.8% month‑to‑month, while commercial planning increased 7% overall. Excluding data‑center projects, construction activity would have fallen 12.7% year‑over‑year. The surge in data‑center builds offset declines in institutional, education,...
Maisons Du Monde Launches New Concept in Spain as Financial Pressure Mounts
French furniture retailer Maisons du Monde is rolling out a new experiential store concept in Madrid, marking the first of several renovations across Spain. The redesign focuses on immersive, tactile displays to inspire shoppers and create a welcoming atmosphere. At...
Rendering Vs. Reality: Affordable Housing at 1435 W. 3rd Street in Westlake
West Hollywood Community Housing Corp is completing the Third Thyme affordable‑housing complex at 1441 W. 3rd Street in Westlake. The eight‑story building offers 104 one‑bedroom senior apartments, including 47 units for formerly homeless residents and two manager suites, while the remaining units target...
Ohio Court Rules Landlord Must Mitigate After Restaurant Chain Walks
An Ohio appeals court ruled that a commercial landlord must attempt to mitigate damages after a tenant vacates, reversing a trial‑court decision that allowed full recovery without proof of re‑letting efforts. The case involved SPM Acquisition, the landlord of a...
Law Firm RPC to Relocate London Headquarters to Devonshire Square
Law firm RPC will relocate its London headquarters to 10 Devonshire Square, occupying all five floors of the 67,023 sq ft Grade II‑listed building on a 15‑year lease. The move, slated for 2028, ends a 20‑year tenancy at its 69,000 sq ft Tower Bridge House...
Ohio Developer Sues ODOT over Forced $390k Road Improvement Demand
Ohio developer Lakefield Place Development LLC sued the Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) in federal court, alleging the agency forced it to fund $390,622 in road improvements located more than a mile and a half from its planned 255‑unit subdivision....
Carrefour Offloads Dozens of Hypermarkets and Supermarkets in France
Carrefour will hand over at least eight hypermarkets and 36 supermarkets in France to independent operators this year, using a location‑gérance model that retains ownership of assets while outsourcing day‑to‑day management. This is the ninth wave of privatizations since CEO...
Full Building Permit Issued for Development at 1628 W. Division
RDM Companies received a full building permit for a 13‑story, 141‑foot residential tower at 1628 W. Division in Chicago. Designed by Kennedy Mann, the project will contain 121 apartments ranging from studios to three‑bedrooms, plus 131 car and 93 bike parking spaces....
What High-End Range Hoods Reveal About Consumer Trends in Luxury Home Markets
Luxury kitchens are now a showcase of personal brand, and high‑end range hoods have become central design statements. Buyers seek bespoke finishes, handcrafted details, and smart, energy‑efficient technology that align with sustainability and wellness priorities. Open‑concept layouts amplify the visual...
First Look: Veridian Project to Bring Modern Touch to Central Buckhead
The Veridian Buckhead development in central Buckhead is moving into its first phase, delivering eight high‑end townhomes on 119 Pharr Road. Each 3,500‑sq‑ft unit spans four levels, includes an elevator, rooftop terrace and four‑car garage, and is priced from roughly $2 million....
Nike Is Back In SoHo With A New Flagship Store
Nike is reopening a flagship store in New York’s SoHo district at 611 Broadway, with a grand opening slated for April 16, 2026. The new location replaces the original 529 Broadway store, which closed in January after IKEA purchased the...
TDC to Break Ground on Second Phase of Medley in Johns Creek, Georgia
Toro Development Co. (TDC) and Ascentris secured a $90 million construction loan to break ground on Encore, the second phase of the 43‑acre Medley mixed‑use project in Johns Creek, Georgia. Encore will add 408 luxury apartments and 20,000 sq ft of ground‑floor retail,...
CenterSquare Sells Shops at Hamilton Mill in Metro Atlanta
CenterSquare has completed the sale of Shops at Hamilton Mill, a 43,518‑square‑foot retail center in Dacula, a suburb of Atlanta. The six‑building complex was fully leased to tenants such as Wild Wing Café, J. Christopher’s, Kumon Learning Center and Pure...
CLEAR and Snappt Close the Identity Gap in Property Management
Snappt has embedded CLEAR1’s high‑assurance identity verification into its Applicant Trust Platform, giving multifamily owners a combined view of identity and financial qualifications. In the first six months the integration flagged more than 5,400 fraudulent applications and averted over $10 million...
The New Mixed-Use Must: Data Centres
UK real‑estate giants are embedding large‑scale data centres into mixed‑use developments to capture AI‑driven demand. Projects such as Reef‑UBS’s Elevate campus in Stevenage will deliver up to 110 MW of power, while Aermont’s £1 bn (£1.25 bn) Pinewood Studios plan adds a 150 MW...
Will Real Estate Mogul’s Bankruptcy Drag Down Brussels’ Louise District?
Brussels commercial real estate giant Sogefibel, the holding company of Gérald Hibert’s portfolio, has filed for bankruptcy, carrying roughly €900 million (about $980 million) in debt. The filing puts iconic assets such as the Galeries Louise shopping arcade and the Toison d’Or...
First-Time Buyers Fall Close to Their Lowest-Ever Market Share in Texas
First‑time homebuyers in Texas slipped to just 21 % of all purchases in 2025, barely above the 20 % low recorded a year earlier. The median buyer age held steady at 58, matching an all‑time high and underscoring a market dominated by...
Zara’s Billionaire Cofounder Is Now The World’s Richest Real Estate Baron
Spanish retail magnate Amancio Ortega, the co‑founder of Zara, has become the world’s richest real‑estate baron after spending roughly $3 billion in 2023 on properties across ten cities and expanding his portfolio to an estimated $25 billion. His holding company Pontegadea now...
Two Incomes Still Aren’t Enough. Here Are the Cities Where They Are
A new study ranked 130 U.S. cities on how well they support young couples, weighing affordability, living‑space per person, commute length and social amenities. Raleigh, North Carolina emerged as the top city, offering strong young‑household incomes, modest rent burdens and...
Why Timing the Bottom of Canada's Roller-Coaster Real Estate Market May Be Harder than You Think
Canada’s housing market has shed nearly 20% of value since February 2022, with the average resale price falling from C$816,720 (≈US$604,000) to C$663,828 (≈US$491,000). Experts say timing the market bottom is tricky because price trends vary by segment—condos remain oversupplied...
America’s Rising Debt Could Keep Mortgage Rates High—And Housing Expensive
Washington’s $38 trillion debt, rising by roughly $2 trillion each year, is emerging as a key driver of higher mortgage rates. The Trump administration’s FY2027 budget offers no clear long‑term strategy to curb the deficit, leaving investors uneasy about future Treasury financing....
Ten Social Housing Units in Santa Margalida, Mallorca / Javier Gavín + Siddartha Rodrigo + Juan Moreno + DATAAE
The Ten Social Housing Units project in Santa Margalida, Mallorca, will deliver 10 affordable apartments and 10 multipurpose ground‑floor spaces across 1,112 m² by 2025. It employs locally sourced sandstone, brick and prefabricated timber panels, optimizing structural thickness to cut material use...
Mortgage and Refinance Interest Rates Today, April 13, 2026: Will We See Sub-6% Rates Again Soon?
Mortgage rates edged lower this week, with Zillow reporting a 30‑year fixed average of 6.15%, down seven basis points. The 15‑year fixed fell to 5.64% and the 5/1 ARM sits at 6.44%. Refinance rates are slightly higher, with the 30‑year...
ICBA Outlines Wins, Concerns in Housing Policy Push
The Independent Community Bankers of America (ICBA) welcomed parts of the House’s Housing for the 21st Century Act that promote tiered examinations for smaller lenders, while flagging gaps in the Senate’s small‑loan incentive proposal, which lacks clear funding and sets...
Non-Banks See Opportunity in Physician Mortgage Niche
Kroll Bond Rating Agency estimates that physician‑focused mortgages could generate about $5 billion of new loan volume each year for prime private‑label RMBS, a modest but meaningful slice of the jumbo market. Non‑bank lenders such as Gershman Mortgage, Certainty Home Lending...
Custodian Flags High Occupancy, Rental Uplift at Grove Court Portfolio
Custodian, a commercial‑real‑estate data provider, reported that the Grove Court portfolio is sustaining a high occupancy rate after its recent acquisition. The portfolio also saw a notable rental uplift, indicating strong demand in its market segment. Occupancy remains above 95%,...
Datacentre Developers Tout Benefits to Local Communities, but Do They Deliver?
Developers of AI‑driven data centres in the UK claim community benefits, but local businesses in Southall argue the reality falls short. A KKR‑backed developer, GTR, is contributing roughly $960,000 to a local economy plan and pledging up to $25.6 million for...
RF vs RFID: Why Retailers Are Moving Beyond Traditional EAS
Retailers are augmenting legacy RF‑based Electronic Article Surveillance (EAS) with RFID tags that uniquely identify each item. While RF still triggers alarms at exits, RFID supplies item‑level data—SKU, value, time and location of a loss event. The hybrid approach lets...
This Southwest London Neighbourhood Is Getting a New Sports Direct Store
Sports Direct opened a 31,000‑sq‑ft, two‑floor store on Kingston’s Market Place, replacing a former Clas Ohlson outlet. The shop carries premium labels such as Nike, Adidas, New Balance and Puma, and introduces the chain’s first in‑store tennis‑racket restringing service through...
Finnish Proptech Jaakko.com Secures €500K to Scale Beyond Domestic Market
Finnish proptech startup Jaakko.com secured €500,000 (about $545,000) in a mixed angel‑institutional round to accelerate product development and push beyond Finland. The marketplace already hosts over 2,000 hidden properties and 3,000 active buy‑sell listings, with seller activity more than doubling...
Derwent: Prime London Property Assets for Just 50p in the Pound
Derwent London, the UK’s largest office‑focused REIT, owns 61 prime central‑London assets valued at about £33.22 ($42) per share but its stock trades at just £16.00 ($20) – roughly 50p in the pound, delivering a 5.1% yield. The company is...
Home Prices Stay High Amid Supply Shortages and Mortgage Lock-In
Home prices have stayed elevated into early 2026 despite mortgage rates above 7% last year, because the market is constrained more by a chronic inventory shortage than by demand. The United States faces a supply gap of roughly 4.0 million homes...
Sirius Posts Double-Digit Rental Growth, Cites Strong Demand
Sirius, a European commercial‑real‑estate firm, announced double‑digit rental growth in its latest reporting period. The surge reflects robust demand for industrial space tied to rising defence budgets across the continent. The company’s strategy targets assets that serve the defence supply...
California Bill Would Limit EV-Charging Access in Affordable Housing
California requires new multifamily developments to include EV‑charging outlets for residents with parking, a policy hailed as the nation’s most equitable. A February‑introduced bill, AB 2748, would suspend this requirement for affordable‑housing projects until at least 2036, reverting to the...
Build It in Conversation with Fleming Homes’ Sarah Mathieson
Fleming Homes, a family‑run timber‑frame builder based in the Scottish Borders, celebrates its 40th anniversary. Managing director Sarah Mathieson, who joined the board in 2015 and became MD in 2017, now steers strategy, finance, sales and marketing. The company’s roots...
Building Commencements Soar to Four Year Highs
Australia’s new residential construction rebounded sharply, with seasonally adjusted building commencements rising 8.0% to 53,567 in the December 2025 quarter—the highest since September 2021. On an annual basis, starts jumped 14.9% to 194,604, marking the strongest year since the 2021...
Knight Frank Targets Growth with Self-Employed Affiliate Estate Agency Model
Knight Frank has unveiled an affiliate estate‑agency model that lets self‑employed brokers operate under its brand while remaining independent. The network will extend the firm’s residential sales reach into 36 target markets without opening new physical branches, starting with several...
Victoria’s Old Retail, Racing and Radio Sites Now Set to Become New Housing
Victoria's government launched the Unlocking Strategic Sites pathway to fast‑track rezoning of underutilised land for residential use. The first seven identified parcels—including a former Bunnings store in Preston, a Bendigo radio station, and surplus university land—could yield up to 9,155...
Letting Agencies Rethink Strategies as Landlord Exodus Accelerates
Letting agents anticipate a 71% plunge in buy‑to‑let investors this year, according to Iamproperty’s survey of more than 320 agencies. The sharp decline forces a strategic shift from landlord‑driven expansion toward owner‑occupier sales and needs‑based services, prompting agencies to allocate...
Edinburgh Suspends 300% Second Homes Tax Premium After Eight Days
Edinburgh’s Labour‑run council introduced a 300% Council Tax premium on second homes on 1 April, tripling the rate to as much as four times the standard charge. Within eight days, the policy was suspended after backlash from roughly 1,440 affected owners...
“For Sale” Boards Under Scrutiny as Agents Accused of Misuse for Branding
UK estate agents are keeping “For Sale” and “To Let” boards on properties long after they leave the market, a practice critics call “fly‑boarding.” The tactic is seen as a branding exercise that creates a false impression of market activity....
Section 8 Overhaul: New Rules for Selling or Moving in (May 2026)
The Renters' Right Act, effective 1 May 2026, eliminates no‑fault Section 21 evictions but retains Section 8 routes for landlords who wish to sell or move back in. New rules impose a mandatory 12‑month tenancy protection, double the notice period to four months, and...
Flipping Consigned to History as Profits Diminish
Flipping homes in England and Wales fell to 1.5 % of transactions in 2025, the lowest share in a decade, as higher stamp‑duty charges erode margins. Average post‑SDLT profit dropped from £36,500 (≈ $45,600) in 2015 to £16,390 (≈ $20,500) in 2025, a...
Bangsue Residence / Patara Architects
Bang Sue Residence, designed by Patara Warathanasin, is a 1,333 m² home built for three generations in Bangkok. The layout centers on a second‑floor common area that opens onto a central pool, while each private unit offers self‑contained living spaces with...
Five Young Families Compete for Charming $5.3m Mosman House
A four‑bedroom, two‑storey home at 14 Erith Street in Mosman sold for A$5.3 million (≈US$3.5 million) at auction, outpacing its A$4.8 million guide. Five young families registered, with three actively bidding, pushing the final price about 10% above the guide. The sale occurred...