USA Law and Practice Contributed by: Richard L. Rosen, Leonard S. Salis and Dennison Marzocco, Rosen Karol Salis PLLC
Office Space Office vacancies persist post-COVID-19 pan - demic, with hybrid work leading to downsizing. Tenants that traditionally occupy large amounts of space in the tech, financial and legal sector have opted to downsize their space as leases expire. Expectedly, new office space construc - tion is also at a ten-year low, though with demand low this does not seem to be causing a problem. Retail Space The demand for commercial retail space depends on its location. However, the retail market has recovered far better than its commercial office space counterpart. Online purchasing, however, Blockchain offers transparency for real estate transactions, but adoption thus far has main - ly been for retail trading. Major firms such as Blackrock and Vanguard now offer Bitcoin ETFs for easy trading access. Bitcoin reached an all- time high of USD103,332.30 on 4 December 2024. 1.3 Proposals for Reform remains a competitive factor. Blockchain Developments The National Association of Realtors (NAR) recently settled a landmark anti-trust litigation which accused real estate brokers of artificial - ly inflating sales commissions. As part of the settlement, the NAR agreed to eliminate long- standing commission regulations in order to facilitate easier commission negotiation between buyers/sellers and their agents. It is hoped that the settlement will stimulate home sales by cre - ating downward pressure on commission rates (as high as 6% of the sale price in large markets). It would not be surprising if further legislation springs from this development.
Private equity firms in the United States own approximately 500,000 single and two-family homes. Although this represents a small fraction of the existing housing inventory (and is more common in the Southwest and Southeastern United States), this has led to some backlash in an inventory-tight, high-demand, high-cost housing market. Governor Hochul of New York has proposed legislation instituting a 75-day waiting period before certain “covered” institu- tional investors can make offers to purchase one or two-family homes. 2. Sale and Purchase 2.1 Categories of Property Rights Property rights come in various forms: • fee simple ownership – full ownership rights over the property, including selling, leasing, devising or mortgaging the property; • leasehold ownership – exclusive rights to possess the property for a set term, with ten - ant protections, including, but without limita - tion, rules governing eviction and security deposits; • occupancy interest (licence) – permission to use the property for a specific purpose, which can be revoked at any time and cannot be transferred; and • easement – a non-possessory interest allow - ing another to use the property for a specific purpose, which “runs with the land” and can be transferred. 2.2 Laws Applicable to Transfer of Title States have enacted real property laws that set forth the requirements necessary to transfer title to real property. Typically, a transfer of ownership is completed upon the delivery by the seller and acceptance of the deed by the buyer. Recording
1098 CHAMBERS.COM
Powered by FlippingBook