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What's up with all the new storage space?

Feb 16, 2024
Investors chasing returns have fueled a self-storage boom.
Nearly 1 in 5 Americans rent storage space away from home, according to real estate data firm Yardi Matrix, many of them during a move or other life transition.
Amy Scott/Marketplace

As the Year of the Dragon dawns, many Chinese wish for a better economy

Feb 9, 2024
Asking people in China about their Lunar New Year wishes, the talk inevitably shifts to the economy.
A vendor in Shanghai sells plush toys for the Year of the Dragon.
Charles Zhang/Marketplace

Could vertical farms help fill unwanted office space?

Nov 22, 2023
Vertical farms “can take the spaces that are hard to rent,” explains real estate developer Brian Friedman.
Racks of lettuces growing at a vertical farm.
onurdongel/ iStock / Getty Images Plus

What China's domestic tourism recovery looks like at a seafood market

Aug 30, 2023
There's more foot traffic than in December, but that doesn't always translate into more spending at Xiamen's Bashi.
Seafood snack and fruit stall vendors in Xiamen say the crowds are back to pre-pandemic levels at Bashi, the Eight Seafood Market, but business is just OK.
Jennifer Pak/Marketplace

The economic cost of waiting at the border in limbo

Aug 3, 2023
Those waiting on an asylum request often can't move forward with a job, housing or education.
Asylum seekers wait at the pedestrian crossing at the U.S.-Mexico border in Tijuana. Some spend weeks, months or longer at or near the border, hoping to be granted asylum.
Guillermo Arias/AFP via Getty Images

Here's what might happen if all that open office space stays empty

One thing seems likely, says Lisa Knee of EisnerAmper: real estate is going to need new, creative investors to stay on track.
Office building vacancies are climbing, property values are sagging. That might have implications for all of the investors tied up in commercial real estate debt.
Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images

As offices sit empty, some banks are more cautious about commercial real estate loans

Jul 4, 2023
Office building vacancies remain elevated, especially in coastal cities. Lenders worry about developers’ ability to pay back their debt.
iStock / Getty Images Plus

For public good, not for profit.

The pandemic restaurant trends that are here to stay

A Deloitte survey finds consumer preferences for things like ordering online and self-checkout aren't going anywhere.
David Becker/Getty Images

Pandemic exodus from big cities was short-lived

Mar 30, 2023
Census data shows fewer people are moving out of coastal urban centers, but Sun Belt states remain popular.
"One of the biggest things that landlords look at when they're deciding whether or not to rent to a tenant is their credit score," Chang said. A lower credit score can affect one's ability to move out and find a new place to live.
Spencer Platt/Getty Images

China ends zero-COVID, but are consumers ready to spend?

Jan 12, 2023
Chinese officials have lifted the harshest restrictions of the zero-COVID policy, but consumers are still cautious amid surging infections.
A tourist district in Xiamen city in late December 2022 was quiet amid a surge of COVID infections.
Jennifer Pak/Marketplace