the Editors of Commercial Property Executive
Apartments Maintain Performance Levels
Commercial and multi-family mortgage delinquency rates as a group experienced minimal increases during the second quarter but continued to perform well, according to a report from the Mortgage Bankers Association. The multi-family sector, specifically, saw $1.489 billion in delinquencies in June, according to data from Standard & Poor’s Corp., barely up from $1.485 billion in March. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which hold more than 80 percent of commercial and multi-family mortgage debt outstanding, saw minimal delinquencies, with just 0.11 percent of Fannie Mae’s loans 60 or more days delinquent and 0.03 percent of Freddie Mac’s at that level, according…
After the Close: Financial Market Report-Thursday, Sept. 18
The latest from the tumult on Wall Street and the rest of the financial world, according to various news sources. • Wachovia Corp., which might buy Morgan Stanley, is having problems of its own, having taken $22.7 billion in write-downs thus far, most of them real estate related, according to Bloomberg. A lot of the company’s exposure to toxic real estate loans dates from its $25 billion acquisition of Golden West in 2006, at the height of the credit bubble. • Today the Dow Jones Industrial Average defied the onrush of grim news by advancing more than 400 points at…
Dividend Capital Takes Kentucky Industrial Portfolio
Dividend Capital Total Realty Trust Inc. has closed on a Kentucky industrial real estate portfolio, the REIT announced. The portfolio contains five industrial distribution facilities located in Louisville, Ky. These house approximately 890,000 square feet. The properties are currently 97% occupied. Louisville is a particularly strong choice due to the decision by UPS to expand its WorldPort global air hub at the Louisville International Airport, according to the Denver-based REITAs of June 30, 2008, the company owned 62 properties totaling approximately 10.8 million square feet in 19 geographic markets.
Correction: FirstService’s Investment in GVA Williams a Good Fit for Both Firms, Say Execs
Toronto-based FirstService Corp.’s acquisition of a 65 percent interest in GVA Williams is a natural pairing and will prove to be a truly symbiotic relationship, according to executives involved in the deal.Terms of the deal, which is expected to close by the end of the month, were not disclosed, but GVA Williams executives will retain the balance of the company’s equity and will continue to run the firm, which will be re-branded as Williams Real Estate, a FirstService Company.One of the leading full-service commercial real estate providers in the New York City and tri-state region, Williams Real Estate will become…
Henderson Global Investors Purchases Sacramento M-F Complex
Taking advantage of a traditionally underserved student housing market, independent investment manager Henderson Global Investors, based in Chicago, has acquired The Verge Apartments in Sacramento for $36 million.The 792-bed community (pictured) serves the Cal State-Sacramento student housing market. The acquisition is the initial investment by a joint venture between Henderson and Valeo University Communities, Inc. The venture was formed through Henderson’s Manager of Partners Program. Student housing continues to be an outstanding portfolio diversifier because its value isn’t correlated to the rest of the real estate industry, a Henderson spokesman said. Additionally, Sacramento’s weakened housing market is forecast to prop…
Detroit Casino Concludes $300M Makeover
Nine years after originally opening its doors, the new MotorCity Casino Hotel has officially wrapped up its three-year expansion with the completion of its 1,886-seat Sound Board Theater live performance venue. The comprehensive $300 million upgrade by Marian Ilitch, who became the sole owner when she bought out her partners in separate deals totaling over $630 million in 2005, also involved the development of additional gaming space, as well as a new hotel and dining options. MotorCity Casino (pictured) holds the distinction of being Detroit’s only locally owned and operated casino, and is also recognized for its incorporation of the…
Kraft Renews 1.5M SF with Prologis
ProLogis has announced that is has renewed a total of approximately 1.5 million square feet in Ohio and Pennsylvania with Kraft Foods. Kraft will continue to lease approximately 675,000 square feet at ProLogis Foreign Trade Center, a distribution park in the greater Columbus, Ohio metropolitan area. Located near the intersection of Interstate 270 and Highway 23, the park is close to the Rickenbacker International Airport and has access to I-70 and I-71. In Eastern Pennsylvania, along the I-78 corridor, Kraft renewed approximately 800,000 square feet with a new lease agreement signed in April of 2008. Kraft will continue to lease…
NAR: Wall Street Ills Hit Commercial Real Estate
The major commercial real estate sectors are getting sick, thanks to tight credit and declining economic activity spawned by the meltdown of billions of dollars of Wall Street investments, according to the latest Commercial Real Estate Outlook, which is published by the National Association of Realtors research division for the Realtors Commercial Alliance. The report surveyed office, industrial, retail and multifamily activity in 50 to 60 markets, depending on the category. The credit crunch, which is pronounced in commercial lending, has combined with the slowing economy to slow net absorption of commercial real estate space in virtually all of the…
Update: Barclays Acquires Piece of Lehman
British financial giant Barclays PLC has jumped on the opportunity to acquire Lehman Brothers Holding Inc.’s North American investment banking and capital markets operations. The move comes only two days after the Lehman filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the wake of its unsuccessful attempt to prop itself up through a proposed spinoff of real estate assets and other reorganization efforts. Barclays had, in fact, been in negotiations last weekend to acquire Lehman itself, but that fell through without a federal backstop of Lehman’s assets. If the current proposed sale is approved by the bankruptcy court, Barclays would pay…
AIG Update: After the Rescue, Comes the Restructuring
Now everyone waits for Act 3. The next phase of the AIG saga, following its rapidly escalating financial crisis and Tuesday night’s 11th-hour rescue by the Federal Reserve, will be the development and execution of a restructuring plan to save both the world’s largest insurance company and the up to $85 billion in loans the Fed has pledged. Last night, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York received the OK to lend up to $85 billion to keep AIG out of bankruptcy. In return, the federal government will get 79.9 percent of AIG stock. Immediately before the decision, it was…