Gravel2Gavel Construction & Real Estate Law Blog
U.S. cities begin leveraging infrastructure coordinators, Texas tax appraisers have been put on notice, China’s property market is projected to worsen throughout 2022, and more.
Articles Posted in Real Estate
Real Estate & Construction News Round-Up (05/18/22)
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Businesses renovate office spaces at a historic pace, China plans to build a 3D-printed hydropower dam without human workers, the U.S. infrastructure package has thousands of projects underway, and more.
Smart Building and Smarter Protocols: Mitigating IoT Cybersecurity Risks in Commercial Real Estate
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From our homes to our workplaces, the deployment of smart technology is becoming increasingly prevalent. The Wall Street Journal notes that smart-building-related companies raised $2.88 billion in venture capital in 2021. In previous posts, we’ve discussed the increased use of smart technology in commercial real estate, the importance of a thorough and rigorous research and evaluation process, and various factors to consider in contracts for smart technology. These evaluation and contract processes are vital for developing security guardrails to which smart technology suppliers must adhere. A rigorous, security-centric approach to smart home technology can help protect real estate companies from catastrophic PR and financial fallout from a security incident such as the Mirai malware attack in 2016 that targeted insecure Internet of Things (IoT) devices. The average cost of data breach incidents increases with each year and, in 2021, the average cost of a data breach incident was $4.24 million. More than ever, companies must not only be aware of the cybersecurity risks of these technologies but take the necessary steps to address their vulnerabilities.
Real Estate & Construction News Round-Up (05/11/22)
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The supply of homes for sale is on the uptick, the White House releases a plan to improve the permitting process for infrastructure projects, cryptocurrency opens the door to a new class of property owners, and more.
NFT Use Cases in Real Estate
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Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) are changing how we think about asset ownership in the real world and in the digital world. NFTs—unique digital tokens stored on a blockchain ledger that represent ownership of an asset, either real or virtual—have gained significant popularity in realms such as art, gaming and entertainment, as a means to establish authenticity and transfer various rights. As a result, entrepreneurs are searching for new industries to disrupt utilizing the advantages offered by NFTs and blockchain more generally. The traditional real estate industry, together with virtual land in the evolving Metaverse, has been on the radar of many.
Real Estate & Construction News Round-Up 05/04/22
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Construction payment apps are on the rise, the European Union proposes to block Russians from buying European real estate, warehouse vacancy rates hit a 27-year low, and more.
Real Estate & Construction News Round-Up 04/27/22
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The Biden Administration plans to require U.S.-made steel and iron for American infrastructure, two major real estate players expand into the metaverse, robotics may be a solution to the construction industry’s labor shortage, and more.
Investing in Metaverse Real Estate: Mind the Gap Between Recognized and Realized Potential
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The Metaverse is an immersive world combining virtual reality and augmented reality, where users are represented by avatars and roam virtual spaces. It comprises a variety of platforms and environments that can be explored, experienced, and developed. Online social games like Second Life, Fortnite and Minecraft are among the first wave of successful Metaverse games. Now, Meta and Microsoft see the Metaverse as a place to play, live, and work. A JP Morgan white paper stated that opportunities in the Metaverse seem “limitless.” The bank predicted that virtual worlds will “infiltrate every sector in some ways in the coming years.” A March 31 report by Citi concluded that the Metaverse has the potential to become a $13 trillion opportunity by 2030, with total global users of between one and five billion. According to Citi, the Metaverse will become a significant part of the next iteration of the internet (referred to as Web3) enabled by a variety of existing and emerging technologies, including 5G connectivity, secure blockchain and payment platforms, crypto assets, cloud computing, artificial intelligence, 3D modeling tools and headset devices.
Real Estate & Construction News Round-Up 04/20/22
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Construction defects emerge in pandemic-era buildings, investor confidence is improving in China’s real estate market, the proptech field continues to show significant signs of growth, and more.
Real Estate & Construction News Round-Up 04/13/22
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Phishing schemes target the mortgage industry, housing prices rise in Europe as Ukrainian refugees flee from their home country, the SEC announces new climate change regulations that will impact commercial real estate, and more.