Curated daily by our industry experts. Stay informed on how tech is shaping the real estate industry with these important headlines.
GLOBEST
SAN FRANCISCO—Not all logistics real estate is created equal. Thus begins a white paper by Prologis on the need to redefine logistics real estate. “With a range of features and locations,” it writes, “properties can have widely different purposes, yet current industry definitions seldom go farther than ‘warehouse/distribution’ and ‘flex’.” The report defines five property types: last touch, city distribution, multi-market and gateway.
WSJ
Some of WeWork’s fast-growing competitors have been raising money and expanding in big cities by persuading investors and clients how different they are from WeWork. Deals cut by a number of smaller office-services startups have come as parent We Co. last week postponed its initial public offering after investors questioned the business model and governance. WeWork co-founder and chief executive Adam Neumann on Tuesday was forced to step down and cede control of the company….
COMMERCIAL OBSERVER
People might avoid eating at a restaurant with a “C” grade, but will they avoid living in a building with the same score? That’s the question building owners have to start asking themselves when a new law takes effect next year that will give properties a letter grade based on their energy consumption for the year.
VENTUREBEAT
Amazon today shared plans to roll out Doorbell Concierge, a way for AI assistant Alexa to answer your front door and speak with visitors through Ring video doorbells. Concierge will begin to roll out for Ring Video Doorbell Elite users starting next year, Amazon VP David Limp said onstage in a presentation at company headquarters in Seattle.
THE REAL DEAL
Compass‘ chief operating officer Maëlle Gavet is leaving the residential brokerage next month, according to sources familiar with the matter. Gavet’s exit is the most notable in a string of recent departures from the SoftBank-backed firm. In an email to agents Tuesday, CEO Robert Reffkin called her departure a “mutual decision.” “Maelle will be moving on to focus her attention on a new opportunity outside of Compass,” he wrote. “The company will not be hiring a replacement for her role.”…
FERGUSON PARTNERS
NEW YORK, NY – September 23, 2019 – Ferguson Partners is pleased to announce Linda J. Isaacson as the firm’s Managing Director and Global Head of Innovation and Technology. Isaacson, a veteran in the real estate and PropTech industries, will look to empower clients to create innovative cultures that embrace digitization and creativity through Big Data, PropTech, FinTech, ConTech and AI, among other emerging technologies and venture capital opportunities. Leading Ferguson Partners’ recruitment of…
SPAR3D
GeoCV is known for their ability to create smooth, realistic 3D+360 tours of existing spaces by using a smartphone depth camera for capture. The GeoCV Cloud automatically stitches together images and 3D measurements into a GeoCV 3D Tour, providing a quick and impressive result with a minimum of scanning effort. Recently, an update to the tour editing software enables users to import and merge captures from drones – opening it potential applications for larger and more complex buildings and prope…
WSJ
Bill Gurley, partner at venture firm Benchmark Capital, gained fame as a Silicon Valley Cassandra, railing against cash-hungry startups with indulgent boards and entitled founders. Now office-leasing firm We Co., where Benchmark is the second largest outside shareholder, is in turmoil. Co-founder Adam Neumann stepped down as We’s chief executive, the company announced Tuesday, confirming a Wall Street Journal report. The move came amid pressure from major investors after the office-leasing co…
WSJ
Property owners have long worried that short-term rentals bring noise, crime and regulatory risks to their buildings. But some real-estate firms are starting to embrace the presence of itinerant guests. In downtown Nashville, Tenn., developers of a new 77-unit condominium project are explicitly marketing their building to owners interested in renting out their apartments via short-term listing sites.
WSJ
WeWork’s decision to replace co-founder Adam Neumann with two chief executives suggests a desire to establish both credibility and continuity by pairing an accomplished technology veteran with a longtime insider. On Tuesday, Mr. Neumann, the company’s charismatic co-founder, agreed to step down as CEO under pressure from the board while remaining nonexecutive chairman of We Co., as the company is officially known. In his place will be the tandem of Sebastian Gunningham, We’s vice chairman who…
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