the Editors of Commercial Property Executive
Fundamentals Pave Way for $47M Florida M-F Financing
Massive job loss and the struggling economy are finally catching up to the multi-family market, but with demand holding strong in certain pockets and government lenders still in full force, this sector of commercial real estate continues to attract financing with far more ease than the office and retail sectors. The 432-unit Village at Secret Lake apartment project in Kissimmee, Fla., fits the bill, having just reeled in a new $47.2 million construction/permanent loan originated by Love Funding. Sited in the Orlando/Disney vacation market, Village at Secret Lake (pictured) was originally planned as a condominium development. Now, plans call for…
As Big Ticket Sales Stall, Mid-Range Deals Still Drawing Interest, Funding
The big-ticket office deals are few and far between these days, even in the leading markets, but properties with more palatable price tags, like a 200,000-square-foot office complex in the Los Angeles area, are finding buyers. Real estate and entertainment law firm Greenberg Glusker has snapped up just such a property in El Segundo, Calif., on behalf of a client for $26.6 million, relying on $22 million in financing from Bank of America N.A. to facilitate the acquisition. Greenberg Glusker released limited details about the transaction, but the firm did note that the financing was restructured six days in advance…
Financial Update – Tax Holidays Could Help Retailers
Various tax holidays got under way over the Memorial Day weekend, or will get under way shortly, possibly giving a nudge to retail sales in some places. In Texas, for example, Memorial Day weekend was the second annual Energy Star sales tax holiday, with certain Energy Star rated appliances qualifying for tax-free status, such as air conditioners, refrigerators, ceiling fans, light bulbs, clothes washers and dishwashers. In Virginia, the Hurricane Preparedness Sales Tax Holiday begins May 25 and runs to May 31. During that period, there will be no state or local taxes on a variety of items associated with…
C&W: Industrial Market Continues Downward Spiral in Q1
It was a grim quarter for the industrial real estate market. The first three months of 2009 saw the sector’s average vacancy rate climb up to 9 percent from 8.3 percent in the fourth quarter of 2008 and 7.2 percent one year ago, marking a four-year high. That is just some of the discouraging news from real estate services firm Cushman & Wakefield Inc.’s latest quarterly MarketBeat report. On the bright side, some factors indicate that the speed of the market’s downward spiral may slow down in the not-too-distant future. Only two markets, the San Francisco Peninsula area and Suburban…
Fitch: General Growth Chapter 11 Ruling a Mixed Blessing for Bondholders
The special-purpose entity structure that has helped to power real estate finance in recent years remains intact after recent court decisions tied to the General Growth Properties Inc. Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing. However, the rulings may turn out to be less than a total victory for bondholders in the long run. In a research note published Thursday, Fitch Ratings argues that the cost of defending bondholders’ positions will take a toll on subordinate bonds and limit the control over the process usually enjoyed by special servicers. “Positions taken by GGP to date lead Fitch to believe that certain CMBS bondholder…
Government Efforts Could Spark Affordable Housing Development
As part of the government’s efforts to relieve the pressure cooker that is the American housing market, the U.S. Department of the Treasury will inject more than $330 million into affordable housing development in Kansas, Michigan, Ohio, Wisconsin, and Puerto Rico.The Treasury funding will be doled out under the American Recovery and Investment Act, which was signed into law in mid-February. The Department of Housing and Urban Development, meanwhile, also announced $83 million for housing development in Ohio. “The Recovery Act offers multiple opportunities for property owners, developers and other stakeholders in the commercial real estate arena,” stated information from…
For AEI Capital, Asset Success Trumps Distress
Plenty of investors are preparing to benefit from the coming wave of distressed asset sales, but net lease investors are not unanimously enthusiastic about the prospects. As net lease investors weigh whether to adopt an opportunistic approach, some veteran players are sticking to longtime conservative strategies. In that debate, AEI Capital Corp., a 39-year-old firm specializing in net-lease retail assets, makes the case for buying only successful stores tenanted by proven national brands.“Over the last couple of years, people lost track of the basics,” contended George Rerat, vice president of acquisitions. Net lease specialists, like many other investors, often failed…
The Expert: The Uneven Road to Recovery
No one ever promised that the road to economic recovery would be a smooth one, but even those of us who were prepared to navigate hills, curves and steep valleys are finding the beginning stages of economic stabilization more tiresome than we had imagined. We continue to battle a greater amount of negative indicators than positive ones, and the positive indicators appear to be relatively weak, but at least the pace at which we have been sliding down this slope is starting to slow. It is hard not to become battle fatigued with all the ups and downs on this…
The News: International Gem Tower Launches in New York City
New York City Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg was among the dignitaries on hand Tuesday in New York’s Diamond District for the official launch of the 34-story International Gem Tower.Located at 50 W. 47 St. between Fifth and Sixth Avenues, the tower, a project of Extell Development Co., is slated for completion in mid 2011 and is to contain up to 84 units of office space for the diamond and jewelry industries.Speaking at the tower’s launch, Bloomberg noted the importance of the diamond trade to the city of New York, and New York’s importance as a diamond center in the eyes…
The Expert: Hotel Buyers Gear Up
Economic strain is weighing down hotel markets worldwide, and volatility in the financial markets persists. Jones Lang LaSalle Hotels recently conducted its biannual Hotel Investor Sentiment Survey, revealing that investors’ six-month, short-term trading performance expectations across the Americas have decreased further and that investors are more pessimistic than following Sept. 11, 2001. However, the rate of decline has slowed.And investors’ medium-term, two-year performance outlook has improved for the first time in two-and-a-half years, indicative of the expectation that the low point in operating fundamentals is nearing. Investors now expect positive medium-term trading in 18 of the 29 markets tracked across…