the Editors of Commercial Property Executive
Two-Year Wait Ahead for Japan’s Recovery: RREEF Research
Though it continues to lead East Asia’s commercial real estate investment market, Japan will take a hit from sluggish capital flows and the global recession for another two years, according to projections by RREEF Research. Nationwide transaction volume in Japan declined 46 percent to $19 billion last year, and another decline is in store for 2009, according to RREEF Research, which is part of Deutsche Bank Group. Returns, too, are destined to continue dropping steeply from the 13.8 percent peak attained in 2006. Last year the market mustered a return of just 3.4 percent. Nevertheless, Japan still accounts for 42…
Economic Update – CityCenter Still On — For Now
For the moment, the CityCenter development in Las Vegas–lately bedeviled by a feud between co-owners MGM Mirage and Dubai World–is still an ongoing thing, thanks to a $200 million payment by MGM to the joint venture late last week. “It is as an acceptable, albeit temporary, solution to the liquidity issues that MGM Mirage is facing,” Dubai World, which is owned by the emirate, said in a statement. Left unspoken was the fact that CityCenter’s main problem seems to be the unlucky timing of getting under way just ahead of a severe recession, something not even $200 million is likely…
WTC Redevelopment Efforts Get Boost with Freedom Tower Lease
There has not been a great amount of positive news at the World Trade Center site, but things brightened a bit today. Vantone Industrial Co. has signed a lease at One World Trade Center, also known as the Freedom Tower, which will create the China Center, a 190,800-square-foot business and cultural facility, to be located on portions of the 64th floor and the entire 65th through 69th floors of One World Trade Center. Immediately following the lease signing, China Center provided the Port Authority, the owner of the building, with a $10 million letter of credit. The lease represents a…
Barclays Report Advises Investors to Loosen Purse Strings
Barclays Capital, in its quarterly research report, says the foundations of a bottom in the global business cycle appear to be in place, and suggests a turn for the better in economic news over the next three to six months. Given that, the report urges investors to become more aggressive.Barclays Capital’s Economic and Financial Market Outlook concludes that recovery is underway in emerging Asia, signaling the start of a six to nine month period during which most economies around the world bottom out and begin recovery. After this region, the U.S. should be watched as the next region for a…
Logistics Weathering Storm for Now, Though Market Likely to Soften
While demand in many areas of commercial real estate has dropped since 2007, logistics properties are weathering the economic storms a little more safely, according to a logistics research report prepared by Grubb & Ellis Co.“The outsourcing of U.S. manufacturing jobs to China, Mexico and other countries with low labor costs has given rise to a sophisticated logistics industry focused on bringing products manufactured abroad into and through the U.S. to their intended destinations,” stated Robert Bach, Grubb & Ellis senior vice president & chief economist, in the report. “Supply chains have become longer and more complex and logistics buildings…
Economic Update – Retail Deals Still Out There
It isn’t the best of times for retail or retail real estate owners and brokers, but the industry isn’t at a complete standstill. That’s the assessment of John Delatour, director of operations and leasing at Jacksonville-based Regency Centers, a specialist in developing and owning grocery-anchored shopping centers and community centers. “There’s no denying that some retailers are going dark, but leasing deals are still getting done,” Delatour tells CPN. “That’s especially the case with grocery-store anchored centers, and even some grocery stores are still expanding, though clearly at a much more modest pace than in recent years.” Among others, he…
Economic Update – Glimmers of Good News?
Are the recent economic initiatives by the U.S. government putting the country on “the road to hell,” to quote a certain Czech politician whose own government imploded recently? It is worth noting that good intentions are known to be a common paving material on the road to that unpleasant destination. Or will our ultimate destination be a little less dramatic? The recently announced plan to get rid of toxic assets on the books of financial institutions through public-private action seems to be getting a positive, if cautious, reception. “We’re still learning about the plan, pretty much like everyone else,” Neil…
Closing Loans Totaling $317M, Liberty Proves Financing Still Available
With the credit crisis in full swing, even secured loans are hard to come by, but Liberty Property Trust has managed to snag six of them totaling $317 million. Relying on industrial and office properties as collateral, the Malvern, Pa.-based REIT obtained the mortgage loans through several leading life insurance concerns.Liberty depended on industrial portfolios to back five of the mortgages, and utilized office properties to secure an additional loan. The company, which did not make specifics regarding the properties readily available, has a portfolio totaling 77 million square feet of office and industrial space in the U.S. and the…
Report: Hotel Investment Sees Dropoff in Canada
Even though Canada’s economy is faring better than many others, the global credit crunch and recession have hampered the country’s hotel sector. According to a new report by Colliers International, the Canadian hospitality market experienced a 77 percent decline in investment activity over the past year, falling to $1.1 billion. But despite the downturn in activity, the report expressed optimism for the future. “Although the current climate looks bleak, the lodging industry is in a much better position compared to previous downturns, as it hasn’t been inundated with oversupply and distressed hotels,” noted Bill Stone, executive managing director with Colliers…
More Development Struggles as Dallas Project Hits Snag
As the commercial development market continues to struggle, yet another project may be in jeopardy. The $1 billion Victory Park near Downtown Dallas may be at risk of defaulting on a $185 million debt owed to German investors.Developed by Fort Worth-based Hillwood, a Perot company, the Victory Park project includes the W Dallas Victory Hotel & Residences, The House by Starck & yoo, the American Airlines Center, the Victory Plaza Building and the Victory Park Super Screens. The Dallas Morning News cited a report in the Financial Times of Germany stating that German investors who hold the debt on some…