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Multifamily housing leads CRE bid competition in October
Modern urban condos in Chattanooga, Tennessee
Marcia Straub | Moment | Getty Images
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July marked a turning point in competition for commercial real estate properties, with bids rising for the first time in more than a year. That trend continued into October.
Bidder dynamics during the month saw the second-highest monthly gain over the past year, according to JLL’s Global Bid Intensity Index. Competitiveness continues to improve, partly due to interest rate cuts by the U.S. Federal Reserve in September and October.
The index measures bidding activity in order to give a real-time view of liquidity and competitiveness in private real estate capital markets. That, in turn, is an indicator for future capital flows across investment sales transactions.
“As capital deployment accelerated during the third quarter, institutional investors are signaling increased confidence in the market, even as uncertainty persists,” said Richard Bloxam, CEO of capital markets at JLL. “We expect business confidence will continue to improve and pave the way for continued capital flow growth into 2026.”
Of all the commercial real estate sectors, multifamily housing led in competition with the strongest bidding activity. That is being driven by housing shortages across most major markets. Rental vacancy rates are still high, but more renters are expected to re-lease in the coming year because the for-sale housing market is so expensive.
JLL estimates that there is a shortage of 3.5 million housing units in the U.S. That, along with near-record-high home prices, is keeping renters in place for longer and will likely push multifamily vacancy rates lower once all the new supply makes it through the pipeline. All of that is driving continued strong conviction among multifamily investors.
There was also a significant rebound in bidding competitiveness for the industrial and logistics sector, as trade policy uncertainty settled slightly.
There was some softening in competition for retail properties simply because there were more of them for sale, so buyers had more choice. There were, however, more deals in the market. Investor demand is being driven by a rise in consumer and retail spending, for now at least.
The office sector is also well into recovery, with bid dynamics rising from all-time lows in late 2023. Investor sentiment is improving with expanding bidder pools and increased lender participation.
Near-term interest rate cuts are still in question, especially given stronger-than-expected employment figures for September, released late due to the government shutdown. Investors, however, seem to be less sensitive to the timing, as they still expect rates to come down further next year.
“While market uncertainty will continue to impact decision-making, the growth picture is looking more positive for 2026. Having worked through various junctures of uncertainty over the past year, more investors are showing a higher tolerance for risk,” Bloxam said. “Coupled with the exceptionally strong debt markets, we expect this will catalyze continued improvement in liquidity.”
The government on Thursday kept petrol and high-speed diesel (HSD) prices unchanged at Rs253.17 per litre and Rs257.08 per litre respectively, for the coming fortnight, starting from January 16.
This decision was notified in a press release issued by the Petroleum Division.
Earlier, it was expected that the prices of all petroleum products would go down by up to Rs4.50 per litre (over 1pc each) today in view of variation in the international market.
Petrol is primarily used in private transport, small vehicles, rickshaws, and two-wheelers, and directly impacts the budgets of the middle and lower-middle classes.
Meanwhile, most of the transport sector runs on HSD. Its price is considered inflationary, as it is mostly used in heavy transport vehicles, trains, and agricultural engines such as trucks, buses, tractors, tube wells, and threshers, and particularly adds to the prices of vegetables and other eatables.
The government is currently charging about Rs100 per litre on petrol and about Rs97 per litre on diesel.
One of Britain’s most prolific rail fare dodgers could face jail after admitting dozens of travel offences.
Charles Brohiri, 29, pleaded guilty to travelling without buying a ticket a total of 112 times over a two-year period, Westminster Magistrates’ Court heard.
He could be ordered to pay more than £18,000 in unpaid fares and legal costs, the court was told.
He will be sentenced next month.
District Judge Nina Tempia warned Brohiri “could face a custodial sentence because of the number of offences he has committed”.
He pleaded guilty to 76 offences on Thursday.
It came after he was convicted in his absence of 36 charges at a previous hearing.
During Thursday’s hearing, Judge Tempia dismissed a bid by Brohiri’s lawyers to have the 36 convictions overturned.
They had argued the prosecutions were unlawful because they had not been brought by a qualified legal professional.
But Judge Tempia rejected the argument, saying there had been “no abuse of this court’s process”.
JSW Jetour T2 Launch: JSW Motors Limited, the passenger vehicle arm of the JSW Group, is reportedly preparing to enter the Indian car market this year. It has partnered with Jetour, a China-based automotive brand owned by Chery Automobile, and the Jetour T2 SUV could be the company’s first product, according to the reports.
Media reports suggest that the launch will happen independently and not under the JSW MG Motor India joint venture. The SUV will wear a JSW badge and name, instead of the Jetour branding. The upcoming SUV will be assembled at JSW’s upcoming greenfield manufacturing facility in Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar, Maharashtra.
According to the reports, the company plans to have the vehicle on sale by the third quarter of this year. With this move, JSW aims to establish itself as a standalone carmaker in India.
Expected Powertrain
The SUV is likely to arrive with a 1.5-litre plug-in hybrid setup. Internationally, this hybrid powertrain is offered with both front-wheel drive and all-wheel drive options. It is still unclear which version will be introduced in India.
Design
In terms of design, the T2 is a large and rugged-looking SUV. It has a boxy and upright stance, similar to vehicles like the Land Rover Defender. Despite its tough appearance, it uses a monocoque chassis instead of a ladder-frame construction.
Size
The SUV measures around 4.7 metres in length and nearly 2 metres in width. This makes it larger than the Tata Safari, even though it is a five-seater. A longer 7-seat version is also sold in some markets.
Price
Pricing details for India are yet to be announced. For reference, the front-wheel-drive five-seat T2 i-DM is priced at AED 1,44,000 (around Rs 35 lakh) in the UAE.
Jetour
Jetour is a brand owned by Chinese automaker Chery. Launched in 2018, it focuses mainly on SUVs and is present in markets across China, the Middle East, Africa, Southeast Asia and Latin America.
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