(Construction Dive) Warehouse rents climb as e-commerce drives demand. Demand for industrial real estate continues to outpace supply, with U.S. vacancy rates hitting a record low of 4.5% in Q2, according to new Cushman & Wakefield research. Rental rates are climbing alongside demand throughout the U.S. The asking rent for industrial space increased 6.8% YoY, driven by Class A space around major cities and ports. Learn more.

(Construction Executive) ABC’s construction backlog indicator and contractor confidence index rise in June. Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) has reported that its Construction Backlog Indicator rose to 8.5 months in June, according to an ABC member survey conducted June 20-July 6, 0.5 months higher than in May 2021 and 0.4 months higher than in June 2020. Read more.

(Construction Executive) Industry Pulse: The latest commercial construction data and statistics. Learn more.

(Dodge Data & Analytics) Total Construction Starts Slip in June. Total construction starts lost 7% in June, slipping to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $863.6 billion, according to Dodge Data & Analytics. All three major sectors (residential, nonresidential building, and nonbuilding) pulled back during the month. Single family housing starts are feeling the detrimental effects of rising materials prices. Large projects that broke ground in May were absent in June for nonresidential building and nonbuilding starts, resulting in declines. Read more.

(Marcus & Millichap) The Outlook: Insights on office, industrial, retail and hospitality. The Global Health Crisis dramatically reshaped the commercial real estate climate, shifting supply, demand, investment, and capital trends. To help investors realign their strategies, Marcus & Millichap delivered reports covering the midyear outlooks for the Office, Industrial, Retail and Hospitality sectors.

(NAHB) Led by OSB, lumber products now add nearly $30K to the price of a new home, $92 to rent. The increases are somewhat less than the April 2020-April 2021 numbers NAHB reported three months ago (a $35,872 increase in house price and $119 increase in monthly rent). At first glance, the latest estimates might seem high relative to recent declines in framing lumber prices, but there are a couple of factors to keep in mind. Read more.

(Reuters) U.S. housing starts accelerate, building permits skid to eight-month low. Housing starts increase 6.3% in June; single-family starts rise 6.3%; multi-family up 6.2% but building permits drop 5.1%; single-family down 6.3%. Learn more.

(Accounting Today) Companies reexamine their lease accounting due to COVID. Businesses are downsizing their office space and renegotiating leases as employees work from home, and they need to look at how they’re accounting for the leases under the new rules. Read more.

(CNBC) Some states now offer certain business owners a workaround for cap on state and local tax deduction. Since the Tax Cut and Jobs Act (TCJA) was passed, there’s been a $10,000 cap on the state and local taxes deduction (SALT) for individual federal returns. However, a growing number of states now offer workarounds, allowing some pass-through business owners to sidestep the limit on SALT write-offs. While workarounds may provide savings in high-tax states, it won’t make sense for all business owners, financial experts say. Learn more.

(BEI) How to increase business value. Learn which value drivers will help business owners increase the value in their business before they go to market. Download the infographic.

(Entrepreneur) How to keep your most valued employees during 'The Great Resignation.' Companies that keep the best people on their team know that every employee's healthy work-life balance is different. Learn why.

(Financial Management) Resuming business travel — it's complicated. As businesses weigh a return to sending employees on trips and welcoming visitors to their offices, employee safety comes first. To help clients determine if they are ready to resume business travel, Korn Ferry has developed a series of questions to consider. Learn more.

(Harvard Business Review) When trusting your family hurts your family business. Globally, family businesses comprise 75% of all firms and contribute 65% to GDP. However, evidence of whether families improve or impair their companies’ performance remains mixed and is ardently debated. Learn why.

(NJCPA) Mentoring can provide sustainable benefits. Mentoring is important in every industry. While internships and apprenticeships typically teach a trade, mentorship programs have another objective: to give new employees, supervisors, and managers the opportunity to learn from seasoned leaders. It also allows for senior leaders to learn from their younger associates. Learn why.

(Stop Ransomware.com) U.S. government creates online ransomware resource center. A statement from the US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) said that StopRansomware.gov is a whole-of-government approach to help organizations better understand the ransomware threat, mitigate their risks, and, in the event of an attack, know what steps to take. Learn more.

(Accounting Today) Millions took early distributions from retirement accounts due to COVID. A report issued by the IRS  warned that many taxpayers didn’t follow the rules and could face potential tax penalties.  Read more.

(Forbes) The Employee Retention Credit: Small- and medium-sized businesses and tax exempts are missing out on billions. Many business, as well as tax-exempt organizations are failing to take advantage of the Employee Retention Credit (“ERC”) – meant to help businesses and tax-exempt organizations keep the doors open and maintain jobs, or, even better, grow and expand (and create more jobs) during these tough economic times. Learn more. (Call Marty at (610) 828-1900 for help)

(GBCA) City of Philadelphia recommends wearing masks indoors. While some project owners require that all construction workers wear masks, this new recommendation also applies to jobsites with indoor spaces. Employers may want to keep confidential records of employee vaccinations to inform their jobsite safety protocols and policies. Learn more.

(NAHB) Resources for renters, landlords as CDC eviction moratorium expires. The moratorium is set to expire on July 31, and the CDC previously indicated that it will not extend it. Learn more.

(New Jersey Business) New bill provides $135M in COVID-19 relief for small businesses. Gov. Phil Murphy signed legislation that will provide $135 million of COVID-19 relief to small businesses. The bulk of the funding will be administered by the New Jersey Economic Development Authority (NJEDA) as part of its Phase IV Emergency Grant and NJ Community Stage Relief Grant programs. Learn more.

Feel free to contact any member of our team at (610) 828-1900 (PA) or (732) 341-3893 (NJ) with questions. Rich Higgins, CPA, managing principal – New Jersey office can be contacted at [email protected]. I can be reached at [email protected]. As always, we are happy to help.