Philippa Maister

Atlanta

Freelance writer on legal, business, finance and healthcare issues. Contribute to American Lawyer, Corporate Counsel, The Banker, fDi, and other magazines.

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Articles

Atlanta Ordinance To Impose Tougher Data Center Regulations Amid City Proliferation

3 weeks ago | globest.com | Philippa Maister

Construction and announcements of massive new data centers are spreading around metro Atlanta and other parts of Georgia at a breathtaking pace. As they do, local governments are struggling with how to respond as communities affected loudly raise concerns. Now, Atlanta’s city government has taken action to impose some form of regulation on the industry. This week, city councilors unanimously approved an ordinance to set strict standards for approval of future data centers within city limits.
Space and Privacy Drive More Renter Households to Suburbs

3 weeks ago | globest.com | Philippa Maister

Chances are, when the average person thinks of a renter, they envision someone who lives in an apartment complex in a large district with just about everything they need within walking distance. But that vision may be outdated as more suburbs appeal to renters, as lifestyle has shifted since the pandemic, according to a new analysis by Point2Homes. In fact, the growth of renter households in suburbs is outpacing their rate of growth in five of the 20 largest U.S. metros.
Millennials Show Rising Interest in Home Buying Despite Rate Hurdles

3 weeks ago | globest.com | Philippa Maister

High home mortgage rates are affecting both would-be buyers and would-be sellers, causing each group to delay moving ahead with a purchase or sale, new surveys by Realtor.com reveal. Among all age groups, millennials are the most anxious to buy in the next six months. The share with this goal rose from 15% in September 2024 to 23% this year. Just 14% of all survey respondents had similar aspirations.
Condo Market Suffers as Investors Turn Cautious in Residential Real Estate

4 weeks ago | globest.com | Philippa Maister

Investors are taking a more cautious approach to residential real estate, with the condo market worst affected, according to a new analysis by Redfin. That’s a marked contrast with the wild swings experienced during Covid, when investor purchases shot up by as much as 145% annually in 2021 and plummeted by 47% in 2023. Redfin said the change was because rapid sale-price and rent growth is no longer the norm, though some flippers are still active.
Data Center Developers Target Georgia Amid Soaring Demand, Community Concerns

1 month ago | globest.com | Philippa Maister

Proposals to build gigantic data centers in Georgia are arriving so fast that it can be hard to keep up with them. This year alone has seen at least 10 multimillion-square-foot projects added to the list to serve the growing demands of AI.
Atlanta Attracts Mercedes-Benz and Strengthens Its Status as an Automotive Powerhouse

1 month ago | globest.com | Philippa Maister

In a coup for Georgia, Germany’s Mercedes-Benz has announced that it will consolidate its roots in the state by establishing its North American headquarters in Sandy Springs, a suburb of Atlanta, where its USA headquarters are already located. In addition, Mercedes will create a new multi-million-dollar, state-of-the-art R&D hub in the Atlanta area.
AI Companies on Track to Lease 2.7M Square Feet Annually in San Francisco

1 month ago | globest.com | Philippa Maister

The rise of AI and the companies that develop and expand it could be the savior of the San Francisco office market, according to a new analysis from CBRE. And the process may have already begun. According to the report, “AI-related companies have leased more than 5 million square feet of San Francisco office space over the past five years and are projected to take up to 16 million square feet between now and 2030.” That works out to 2.7 million square feet a year.
Homebuyers See More Choices, But Most Still Can’t Afford to Buy

1 month ago | globest.com | Philippa Maister

The U.S. housing market in March 2025 presents a mixed story of good news and bad news. The good news is that housing affordability has improved somewhat at a national level. The bad news is that thousands of would-be buyers, especially those in lower- and middle-income groups, are still locked out of the market. “The housing market remains far from a full recovery and a balanced situation,” the National Association of Realtors stated in a new report.
CRE Lending Surges 42% in First Quarter

1 month ago | globest.com | Philippa Maister

The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) has released its quarterly survey of commercial and multifamily mortgage originations for 1Q 2025, finding “a strong rebound” year over year. Loans for office properties, in particular, soared sharply. Loan originations of all types climbed 42% year over year from their level in 1Q 2024. However, as compared to 4Q 2024, loan originations this quarter slumped 40%. Nevertheless, the MBA said this year’s results were a positive sign.
Climate risk is disproportionately affecting minority homeowners

1 month ago | propertycasualty360.com | Philippa Maister

Natural disaster risks can exacerbate financial inequality for minority homeowners because they increase the cost of homeownership due to higher insurance and energy expenses, as well as the costs of repairs and rebuilding after disaster strikes. (Credit: Andrey Popov/Adobe Stock) At a time when natural disasters are becoming more frequent and more severe, minority homeowners are at greater climate risk than White homeowners, according to a new report from Zillow Research.