It may be 2021, but the gender gap is still alive and well, and Commercial Real Estate (CRE) is no exception. While 64% of all residential realtors are women, this glass ceiling-shattering statistic isn’t reflective of CRE, where only 36.7% of workers are female. This begs the question — what can be done to attract more women into CRE and keep them there?

But, before we can answer that question, let’s consider a few reasons why female talent has struggled to break into the CRE industry. Then we can talk about some creative ways firms can evolve to attract and retain more women:

Where Are The Women in CRE?

Make no mistake, there are some powerful women in the world of CRE that I look up to and admire for making an impact, shattering stereotypes, and
inspiring positive evolution within the field. That being said, we still have
a lot of work to do to balance the scales. Let’s examine some of the primary
driving forces behind the unimpressive gender gap that still exists:

1. Like father, like son. The systemic nepotism entrenched within the CRE industry is clear as day and understandable: in a relationship-driven business, it’s not what you know but who you know. But when the CEO hires his COO’s nephew as an intern because of a favor-owed, it perpetuates the problem. While there is nothing fundamentally wrong with working in the family business or returning a favor, issues arise when that’s the primary funnel for sourcing new talent. The result is a narrow, one-dimensional organization that has historically left highly qualified female candidates overlooked or encouraged into more gender-traditional career paths. Click to read more at www.rednews.com.

Bimingham, Ala. (Business Wire) Regions Bank on Thursday announced it has completed its acquisition of Sabal Capital Partners, LLC, a diversified financial services firm that leverages an innovative, technology-driven origination and servicing platform to facilitate off-balance-sheet lending in the small balance commercial real estate market.

Our acquisition of Sabal Capital Partners further positions Regions’ Real Estate Capital Markets division to serve growing client base through an expanded range of high-value, in-demand services,” said Joel Stephens, head of Capital Markets for Regions Bank. “By welcoming Sabal into the regions family, we are further enhancing our agency multifamily and non-agency lending capabilities and accelerating our grown in an off-balance-sheet small balance commercial real estate lending. With Sabal’s strong reputation, leading-edge technology platform, and exceptional team, this acquisition serves as an opportunity for Regions to meet additional needs for our clients while reaching new clients through the additional services delivered by Sabal Capital Partners.” Click to read more at www.businesswire.com.

Home insurance costs are set to soar for people living in high-risk areas and residential real estate investors as climate change becomes more severe across the US, according to a whitepaper on the impact of global warming on property.

Titled ‘Weathering the Storm: Burgeoning Insurance Costs for Real Estate,’ the 14-page report by proptech firm SitusAMC outlines that people living in areas at high risk from natural disasters were largely unaware of rising home insurance costs.

The report highlighted that extreme weather events would impact the entire country and not just along vulnerable coastlines such as South Florida, warning that there was a “substantial disconnect between insurers and real estate market participants about the magnitude of these (insurance premium) increases”. Click to read more at www.mpamag.com.

What an attractive crowd!” cheered Fredrik Eklund, the Swedish-born celebrity real estate broker who stars on the hit Bravo reality show Million Dollar Listing. He stood on the patio of a newly built home in Tarrytown, the tony neighborhood that hugs the shores of Lake Austin, addressing the local brokers who were packed into the yard. It was the launch party for the Austin branch of Douglas Elliman, a brokerage famous in New York and California for selling luxury homes and high-rise condos.

Eklund, who wore a double-breasted navy linen jacket, snug-fitting white slacks, and sockless dress shoes, seemed a little surprised that the crowd had matched him ankle for stylish ankle, but he didn’t linger on it. Speeches had to be made, toasts given, and then he’d board a plane for Miami first thing in the morning, after fewer than 24 hours in the Texas capital. For the moment, his job was simply to be seen, to lend some sizzle to the occasion. Not only was Elliman moving in on Texas real estate, it had brought its biggest gun, Eklund, one of the country’s top real estate brokers, who also happens to be a bona fide TV star.

Not that Austin—or this house—needed any help in the sizzle category. The three-story brick-and-shingle mansion had sold in two days for considerably more than its $16.25 million asking price, to an out-of-town buyer whose identity was confidential (but who was rumored to be to an entrepreneur from Los Angeles). Click to read more at www.texasmonthly.com.

AUSTIN — “Don’t California my Texas” has become a rallying cry for the state’s conservative officials but it’s those same leaders who tout triumph when California-based businesses and its residents relocate to the Lone Star state — to which many have.

The phrase first came about as a push against liberal ideals often associated with California. It is repeated enough that in 2018, Gov. Greg Abbott used the phrase in a petition as part of his re-election campaign.

At the same time, Texas is out-competing every state four to one in securing the headquarters of California-based businesses, many of which are all together relocating their headquarters to the state, according to a study by McKinney-based Spectrum Location Solutions and Stanford University’s Hoover Institution released in August.

The study found Texas gained at least 114 California businesses from Jan. 1, 2018 through June 30, 2021. Tennessee was next with 25 California-based businesses relocating to the Volunteer State, it said. Of those, 41 companies planted corporate flags in North Texas. The Austin area claimed 57, Houston got nine and the San Antonio area attracted six, the report said. Click to read more at www.palestineherald.com.