4A — March 15 - 28, 2019 — M id A tlantic
Real Estate Journal
www.marejournal.com
D el M ar V a
CRE Tech helps investors stay ahead As demand for opportunity zone investments climbs in DE
S
ince its inception in 2017, talk of the Opportunity Zone program has rippled
Reonomy. By diving deeper into individual asset details, users can explore physical, transac- tional and owner information to help decide if the asset is worth pursuing. Potential Paramount in Dover The city of Dover is also ideal for Opportunity Zone invest- ment. On top of Opportunity Zones, Dover is also home to various Downtown Develop- ment Districts that offer ad- ditional financial incentives from the state, county and city. Three of these qualified Downtown Development Dis- tricts overlap with Opportu- nity Zones, giving investors a chance to completely maximize their ROI. According to Reonomy data, there are 1,608 commercial as- sets situated in Dover’s Oppor- tunity Zones. Approximately 770 of these properties are cat- egorized as vacant land, mak- ing up the majority of Dover’s diverse asset spread. Rather than focusing only on land or property listed as “for sale”, this expansive scope increases the chances developers will find a property they’re interested in. As the race for Opportunity Zones wages on, investors in Delaware and throughout the nation will need to elevate their efforts with CRE technology. From sourcing through deal- making, off-market data plat- forms enable a simpler, savvier strategy. Rich Sarkis is CEO and co-founder of Reonomy, a commercial real estate data and analytics company. a section of the MARE Real Estate Journal 350LincolnStreet, Suite1105 Hingham, MA 02043 P: 781-740-2900 Fax: 781-740-2929 www.marejournal.com DELMARVA
they’re interested in to analyze building characteristics and transactional data, and in turn, determine if the property is worth pursuing. Investors and developers can also use individual asset intel to facilitate smarter, more cus- tomized deal-making. Rather than getting stonewalled by gatekeepers and opaque LLCs, accurate owner information al- lows users to go straight to the decision-maker of a property. Then, by leveraging the power of nuance, professionals can approach Delaware property owners with the knowledge they need to make an offer that benefits both parties. Wilmington’s Office Outlook While CRE technology can help simplify the search across all of Delaware’s Opportunity Zones, Wilmington and Dover have the most areas of poten- tial. In fact, 19 of the state’s 25 designated census tracts are lo- cated between New Castle and Kent counties. With the ma- jority of potential distributed in both cities, local developers should consider these metros in their Opportunity Zone search. Wilmington, particularly, is on the rise, and Mid-Atlantic investors shouldn’t overlook it. The largest city in the state is situated just 30 miles southwest of Philadelphia and its surrounding suburbs, making it attractive to inves- tors and developers. Office space, specifically, should be closely examined, as the city is relatively more affordable than its neighbor in Pennsylvania. Technical.ly recently reported that rent prices in Wilming- ton were cheaper at $25 psf compared to Philadelphia’s $31. Wilmington’s wage tax is also considerably lower at 1.25% compared to 3.89% in Philadelphia. Current Reonomy data in- dicates 4,071 different com- mercial assets located in Wilm- ington’s Opportunity Zones. Of these 4,000+ properties, more than 1,600 are categorized as general commercial and, while they aren’t exclusive to office space, include a myriad of asset types including office, hospitality, and mixed-use. Our platform also indicates there are 1,226 vacant land plots pep- pered throughout Wilmington’s Opportunity Zones. Developers looking for lucrative land deals can explore these parcels fur- ther by utilizing a commercial real estate data platform, like
t h r o u g h - out the real estate com- muni ty . In D e l a w a r e , particularly, investors and de v e l ope r s are tuning in, eager to
Rich Sarkis
capitalize on the substantial tax breaks the program prom- ises. But while interest in these incentivized properties has increased, supply is limited- -there are only 25 designated census tracts across the state, making competition for invest- ment more fierce compared to other regions. To navigate the nuances of Opportunity Zone supply and demand, Delaware’s real estate community needs commercial real estate (CRE) technology now more than ever. Platforms powered by off-market data are especially advantageous, as they provide the necessary tools for investors and developers to efficiently locate potential properties. In the state’s major metros where demand is most notable, like Wilmington and Dover, CRE technology offers a birdseye view of the entire Opportunity Zone market--not just those listed “for sale”--and enables indispensable insights to strike better deals. Surpassing the Competition With the emergence of tech- nology, the days of manual sourcing for properties and strategizing are fading away. Still, many investors and devel- opers are hesitant to adopt new tools--in Delaware and across the country. Unfortunately, this creates a gap--those who continue to rely solely on these antiquated strategies can’t compete with those who use CRE tech. Why? It streamlines the search experience and pro- vides the details needed to ana- lyze and create stronger deals, especially in Opportunity Zones where return-on-investment (ROI) can be maximized. Technology like Reonomy lets users find property in Delaware’s Opportunity Zones with the click of a button. Compared to scouring listings for potential properties, these platforms serve up a simpli- fied search experience that can be customized to the users liking. From there, users can explore the individual assets
FULL-SERVICE BROKERAGE SERVICES
Retail
CONTACT US TODAY TO LEARN MORE.
S ection P ublisher Steve Kelley skelley@marejournal.com S ection E ditor Karen Vachon editor@marejournal.com
NEWARK/REHOBOTH BEACH, DE
Made with FlippingBook - Online Brochure Maker