Tag: construction
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Billion-Dollar Pledges vs. Ground Reality: Why California’s Housing Crisis Still Persists
In 2019, Silicon Valley’s tech giants—Google, Meta, and Apple—rolled out some of the most ambitious corporate housing commitments in history. Combined, their pledges totaled $4.5 billion, aimed squarely at easing the Bay Area’s affordability crisis. The plans sounded transformative: loans to affordable housing developers, building on company-owned land, and strategic partnerships with public agencies to…
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🔥 From Wildfire to Workforce Crisis: How ICE Raids Are Threatening LA’s Rebuild
Los Angeles is facing a reconstruction crisis—and it has nothing to do with materials or money. After wildfires destroyed more than 16,000 structures earlier this year, tens of thousands of residents were displaced. The city needed a massive, coordinated effort to rebuild. What it got instead? A sweeping series of ICE raids that are driving…
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Is the “Taylor Swift Tax” Heading for Maine—and What It Means for My Newry Build
Rhode Island lawmakers just dusted off their so-called “Taylor Swift Tax,” a surcharge aimed at luxury second homes valued above $1 million. At $2.50 per $500 of assessed value beyond that threshold, the proposal could tack six figures onto an annual tax bill for the likes of Swift and other high-end owners. Make no mistake:…
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The Great Migration: Why Multifamily Developers Are Betting Big on Low-Density America
By Daniel Kaufman Forget the skyscrapers—for the first time in a long time, the real action in multifamily construction is happening far from the urban core. Developers are planting their flags in places most of us weren’t watching a few years ago: suburban fringes, micro counties, and even rural regions. The numbers aren’t subtle—they’re loud.…
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When Properties Go Dark: What ‘Zombie’ Foreclosures Reveal About the Housing Market’s Fault Lines
Every real estate cycle has its ghosts—and right now, a quiet uptick in “zombie” foreclosures is haunting select pockets of the country. These aren’t your run-of-the-mill distressed properties. They’re vacant, abandoned, and stuck in limbo: neither reclaimed by lenders nor occupied by owners. In markets like Wichita, Peoria, and rural North Carolina, they’re starting to…
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Florida’s Price Correction: What Real Estate Pros Should Really Take Away
Contrary to the headlines, there’s no reason to panic. Yes, Q1 data from the National Association of Realtors® shows that home prices fell in nearly 17% of U.S. markets—with Florida accounting for more than a quarter of those declines. But let’s be clear: this is not 2008, and this is not a sign of systemic…
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Portland’s Moment: A 30-Story Tower Aims to Redefine the Skyline and the Market
There’s a bold new vision coming to life in the heart of Portland, Maine—and it’s not subtle. East Brown Cow, one of the city’s most active and ambitious developers, has unveiled plans for a landmark 30-story tower at 45 Union Street in the historic Old Port district. If completed, this 380-foot structure—designed by the globally…
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Is 3D Printing the Future of Construction? Starbucks Thinks So
The future of construction might be arriving faster than most of us expected—and it’s being printed, not built. Starbucks recently opened a 3D-printed, drive-through-only store in Brownsville, Texas, marking one of the most visible uses of additive manufacturing in the commercial retail sector to date. At 1,400 square feet, the structure was constructed using a…
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Why I Think CRE Will Be a Safe Harbor Amid Tariff Turmoil
But I’m watching two caveats that could shake that thesis. When the Trump administration announced sweeping tariffs on April 2, the immediate reaction across markets was predictable: volatility surged, equity indices swung wildly, and conversations in capital circles turned toward downside protection. As someone who spends every day in the world of commercial real estate,…
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Will Developing Federal Land Solve the US Housing Shortage? What Real Estate Developers & Investors Need to Know
The US housing crisis is one of the most pressing issues facing real estate developers and investors. With limited supply, high land costs, and restrictive zoning laws, many metro areas are struggling to meet housing demand. Recently, President Donald Trump proposed unlocking federal land for housing development as a way to ease the shortage. On…
Daniel Kaufman Real Estate 