- Josh Lonon with Wyche, P.A. said that developer clients were going full blast, there was a rush to get things done at the end of the year because of fear of tax changes. Class A office space and retail lease market are healthier than expected. Josh is working on the Daniel Morgan urban trail project in Spartanburg which has expanded to 50+miles and will be a game changer for Spartanburg. They recently received a 23.8-million-dollar grant from federal department of transportation.
- Meghan O’Neil with Wyche, P.A. shared that they are still coming out of head spinning end of year. Clients are still doing several development deals – abandoned textiles. HUD?financing for multi-family housing is very backed up. They are noticing that clients with affordable housing clients are getting pushed through while clients that are market rate are having a hard time getting through.
- Josh Workman of Tax Credit Marketplace shared that they had 14 projects in 2021 with 92 investors for $60 million. For 2022, they have 20 projects on the board for $174 million. They have projects in new cities for 2022 – Conway, Beaufort, Clemson and Travelers Rest.
- Andrew Porio of Tax Credit Marketplace said that they are focusing on downtown redevelopment. He has spoken to Aiken and Camden recently on their projects. He also shared that there is a ULI meeting in Columbia next month.
- Matt Linville of Bankers Exchange said that closings in November and December were crazy. He also shared that 1031 investors breathed a sigh of relief with the Build Back Better bill not passing.
- Mark Cooter of Cherry Bekaert echoed the sentiment that November and December were extremely busy. With the Build Back Better bill not passing, they are in a similar tax situation as 2021.?He believes that aspects of the bill will be tagged onto future legislation. He shared the exciting news that Mauldin will potentially get the new Triumph Soccer Stadium.
- David Lewis of Context Design Group shared that they are still busy in the private sector. The cost of materials and delivery times are impacting projects. He said that roof insulation is taking 8-9 months. They have a large multi-phase project in Spartanburg. They have begun to redesign projects to use more easily acquired materials.
- Chuck McShane of CoStar Group said that inflation of goods is driven by imports. He shared that Savannah, Charleston and Spartanburg are among the top 6 cities for industrial construction. He says they are seeing some construction moratoriums in NC.?They are hosting a Carolinas Industrial Analytics Webinar at 11am on Feb 3.
- Laura Ullrich of the Federal Reserve of Richmond was on blackout and could only share so much. She says that there is a debate whether labor face participation is about covid or an exasperation of things going on prior to Covid; she is of the latter opinion. She also shared that climate change is starting to impact people’s pockets and that we are hearing more and more about the economic impacts of climate change. She also stated that the availability of work force housing ($100-300,000) is a problem everywhere and a real issue in some areas such as Charleston.?She believes that we should expect to see some movement this year regarding SC State Tax laws. Finally, she suggested The Demographic Draught as a great read.
- Will Giambalvo of Gallagher shared that there were 21 Billion dollar in weather related claims in 2021. Hurricane, wildfires, tornadoes and freezes give rise to rates in 2022. Seeing pressure of rates going up and pressure on valuations. Carriers looking for higher replacement costs. 1249 tornadoes in 2021. Almost every state had a tornado in 2021– not just Midwest anymore. Carriers putting higher wind and hail deductibles. Will continue to see this for the next few years.?Best thing clients can do is to get quotes as incumbent carriers are pushing rates.
- Will Salters of Terracon Consultants shared the Army Corps of Engineers did a poor job communicating the fact that they vacated Trump Administration’s Clean Water Act Certification Rule. This is impacting many large warehouse opportunities.?He also said that there is an influx of brownfield money – traditionally $70 million a year anticipating an additional $300 million. The state of SC has had great success using the funds for certification needs, to assess wetlands, and property condition assessments. They are seeing a renewed interest in tapping into these grants.
- Thomas Young of Young Office says that demand remains high in all sectors - office, health care and education. He also said that the supply chain is not getting any better. Price increases are happening every 90 days – 25%-30% in last year. They are starting to see school spend the money they received from the CARES Act. With regards to labor force, no one will come in for interview for under $20 hour.?
- Alita Webster of Young Office said they are continuing to see people moving and renovating offices.
