Business Specialties
Economy Watch: Capmark Files for Bankruptcy
Major commercial real estate lender Capmark Financial Group Inc. and various subsidiaries have filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, which last month the company had warned was coming. The move will allow the Capmark to reorganize and, very likely, delay selling off some of its $20 billion-plus in assets at less-than-desirable prices.
Organization Launches $4B Green Initiative for Affordable Housing
The green movement in commercial real estate has caught on like wildfire and even with the recession having left most clutching their pocketbooks, it continues to spread. Now Columbia, Md.-based Enterprise Community Investment Inc. plans to take the trend to new heights with the kicking off its $4 billion Green Communities initiative, which is designed to propel the greening of affordable housing development across the country.
Economy Watch – Homebuyer Tax Credit Sees Some Cheating
In testimony reminiscent of dogs getting credit-card applications approved back during the mid-2000s credit bubble, a Treasury Department inspector told Congress that kids as young as four years old have been able to receive $8,000 first-time homebuyer tax credits. “Some key controls were missing to prevent an individual from erroneously or fraudulently claiming the credit,” J. Russell George told the House Ways and Means Committee’s oversight panel on Thursday.
Germany’s Promising Discount Retail Market Lures Behringer Harvard
With the recession having taken a chunk out of consumers’ pocketbooks around the world, the retail real estate market has been struggling for quite some time, and the situation is no different in Germany. However, the discount retail sub-sector is thriving in the country, and Dallas-based commercial real estate firm Behringer Harvard has positioned itself to capitalize on related development opportunities with the recent formation of Behringer Harvard German Retail, a joint venture with Hanover, Germany-based real estate investment and management company Rahlfs Immobilien GmbH.
Specialization Helps Close Deals
In most sports, coaches use specialists to deal with pressure situations. In football, for example, they will bring in a slash-type runner on offense to cross the goal line or a pass rusher on defense to sack the quarterback. These specialists have specific skills and in many cases prove to be the difference between victory and defeat. For those in real estate, and particularly with Stan Johnson Co., specialization is the maxim for those that want to succeed in these trying times and get deals closed, no matter what the size or complexity.
Economy Watch: Beige Book Describes Modest Recovery
The Federal Reserve’s most recent Summary of Commentary on Current Economic Conditions, better known as the Beige Book, wasn’t exactly cheerful about the state of the U.S. economy toward the end of annus horribilis 2009. But it wasn’t precisely pessimistic either.
Fitch: CRE Losses to Increase into Next Year
Good news in the commercial real estate world seems to be in short supply these days. In a study released earlier this week by Fitch Ratings, they’re indicating that losses will increase this year and next for the U.S. CMBS.
Economy Watch: No Rush to Build More Houses
U.S. housing starts posted a gain in September, but only a modest one,pointing to a still-modest rate of recovery for the overall economy.According to the U.S. Department of Commerce, the rate of new homestarted inched upward by 0.5 percent during the month to a seasonally adjustedrate of about 590,000 units. Ever-optimistic economists, it seems, wereexpecting more.
Consumers Warm to Green Energy, But Questions Remain
Concerns about energy costs and the environment are driving consumer behavior as they choose between a growing selection of green energy initiatives, according to new research from Nielsen Claritas. “Energy Trends: Highlights on Consumer Energy Usage,” which draws on the responses of more than 32,000 respondents about their energy use, found that while some consumers are adopting green habits, many have not been as quick to jump onboard.
Economy Watch: More Medicine for Ill Housing Market
The U.S. housing market might not be quite as deathly ill as it was a year ago, but no one is suggesting–to stretch the health metaphor–that it will get up and run a marathon any time soon. In fact, the industry is wheezing and gasping a little at the thought of the looming expiration of the $8,000 first-timer tax credit, so plans have been hatched in Congress to keep the credit in place.