Allison Landa
National Apartment Report: Sector Set for Recovery
The worst is over for the U.S. apartment market, according to Marcus and Millichap’s 2010 National Apartment Report. A survey of 44 nationwide markets based on forecast supply and demand conditions, the report found that a drop in construction has set the stage for a recovery this year.
Approval of Master Plan Paves Way for Beleaguered GGP’s Massive Mixed-Use Project in Suburban Maryland
Debt-laden General Growth Properties is in the midst of restructuring after having filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy projection in April 2009, but the Chicago-based REIT is not allowing its current financial woes to sideline development plans.
Economy Watch: Unemployment Rate Back to Single Digits
The U.S. Department of Labor surprised the nation on Friday by announcing that the official unemployment rate dropped to 9.7 percent in January. Commercial real estate isn’t breaking out the noisemakers just yet, but maybe the bottom has arrived.
SPECIAL REPORT: Educational Sessions at Conference Reflect Mortgage Banker’s Concern with Problem Loans
Las Vegas—Master servicers are seeing more borrowers trying to force the transfer of their loans to special servicing, according to Kevin Donahue, senior vice president of PNC Real Estate/Midland Loan Services Inc. “Borrowers are becoming a little savvier” in pursuing their alternatives, said Donahue. They understand that the master servicer cannot perform “material modifications” on the loan, he said.
Fried Frank Takes Space in One of Two U.S. LEED-Certified Platinum Buildings
When Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson LLP decided to get greener, the international law firm decided moving boxes were in the plan. It was announced Friday that Fried Frank has signed a 16-year, 102,000 square-foot lease on Lafayette Tower at 801 17th Street, N.W. in Washington, D.C., and will move into its new quarters in about a year.
Orient-Express Goes for Growth, Snaps Up Pair of Properties for $117M
Bermuda-based hotelier Orient-Express this week confirmed that it has completed the purchase of the Grand Hotel Timeo and Villa Sant’Andrea, both in Taormina, Sicily. Orient-Express bought the pair of properties from The Framon Group for a combined $117 million.
Discount Retail on the Rise
Today’s announcement that Dollar General plans to open 600 new stores nationwide underscores the strong showing that discount stores have made in today’s turbulent market.
Economy Watch: Retailers See Modest January Uptick
Retailers did reasonably well in January, with retail same-store sales up 3.3 percent compared with the same month a year earlier, according to a Thomson Reuters’ survey of 29 major chain stores.
SPECIAL REPORT: MBA Makes Predictions for Economy, Interest Rates, Unemployment, Commercial Real Estate
Commercial real estate market conditions are not likely to ever return to levels last seen at the peak of the market in 2007, according to Jay Brinkmann, chief economist and senior vice president, research and economist, of the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA).
Calpine to Build First U.S. Power Plant with Emissions Limits
The power company Calpine said Thursday that it has gotten the go-ahead to build the country’s first plant with a federal limit on greenhouse gas emissions.