President Obama on Dec. 18 signed the Protecting Americans From Tax Hikes (PATH) Act of 2015 into law, enacting major reforms to the Foreign Investment in Real Property Tax Act of 1980 (FIRPTA).
Obama Signs FIRPTA Reforms Into Law
Obama Signs TRIA Extension Into Law
President Barack Obama on Jan. 12 signed legislation into law to reauthorize the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act (TRIA) through the end of 2020.
Congress adjourned in December without passing a bill to extend the TRIA program, which stalled in the Senate following the addition of an unrelated provision. The program expired at the end of 2014; however, upon returning to work on Jan. 6, the House of Representatives and Senate quickly went to work on a reauthorization bill.
PwC Survey Shows Consistent Signs of Strength in Office, Health Care Real Estate
Real estate investors remain bullish, especially regarding the office and health care sectors, according to a survey conducted by consulting firm PwC.
PwC’s survey of real estate investors in the third quarter of 2014, released Sept. 15, indicated that the office sector is showing consistent signs of strengthening. Most geographic markets are expected to be in either the recovery or expansion phase of the real estate cycle during the next four years.
Fundamentally Speaking: Encouraging Signs in Apartment, Office Sectors
In the latest edition of Fundamentally Speaking, Calvin Schnure, NAREIT’s vice president of research and industry information, discussed some encouraging trends in the office and apartment sectors during the first quarter of 2014.
Schnure noted that the apartment sector witnessed another decline in vacancy rates in the first quarter, reaching a new low for the cycle. The office sector also saw some improvement in vacancy rates, although rates are still several percentage points above what would be considered “normal” in a healthy market, he said.
