Business Specialties
Corporate RE Departments Reorganizing, Downsizing, Outsourcing
As companies continue to grapple with the industry-wide downturn, they are increasingly looking to make their corporate real estate departments operate as efficiently as possible, according to a new report by CB Richard Ellis Inc. and CoreNet Global.
Economy Watch: Fannie, Freddie Still Vexed by Mortgage Defaults
Federal Housing Finance Agency acting director Edward J. DeMarco told Congress on Thursday that it ain’t over till it’s over when it comes to the problems caused by U.S. housing mortgage delinquencies. And for Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae especially, it’s not nearly over.
As Firms Move to Outsource Project Management, CBRE Inks Deal with Cisco
As companies work to streamline operating efficiencies and cut costs, the outsourcing of services has become increasingly popular, and real estate services are high on the priority list. In the latest high profile outsourcing, CB Richard Ellis Inc. has agreed to a deal to provide project management services for Cisco Systems.
Dog Days of Distress
Long lines of cash-rich investors, including REITs, are forming around what some believe could be the biggest distressed debt sales market since the days of the U.S. savings-and-loan crisis, but Ernst & Young L.L.P.’s latest survey of those investors suggests this market won’t follow quite the same pattern it did in the 1990s.
Beyond Banks and Life Companies
While commercial banks and life companies continue to dominate the limited volume of commercial real estate lending currently taking place, new lending sources are beginning to emerge to replace a portion of the liquidity formerly supplied by the now dormant CMBS market. The three vehicles most often used to raise this new capital are (i) private/non-traded REITs, (ii) publicly traded mortgage REITs and (iii) private equity debt funds.
Apartment REITs See Record Jump in Returns
While it’s probably early to label it a full-fledged resurgence, apartment REITs bounced back in a big way last quarter. The National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts reported that the FTSE NAREIT All REITIndex was up 31.52 percent in the third quarter–the index’s best-ever quarterly gain–bringing year-to-date total returns to 17.73 percent through Sept. 30.
To Shore Up Balance Sheets, REITs Like Brandywine Look to Divest Non-Core Assets
With loans still hard to come by, Brandywine Realty Trust is shoring up its balance sheet, reducing leverage and preparing for investment opportunities with the disposition of non-core assets, including two properties in Trenton, N.J. The REIT just completed the sale of the office buildings at 33 W. State St. and 50 E. State St., totaling 474,000 square feet, to a private investment group.
Economy Watch: MGM Cuts Condo Prices
In an effort to keep buyers from wriggling out of their deals, and as a simple acknowledgment that the luxury condo market just isn’t what it used to be, MGM Mirage and its partner Dubai World are slashing prices for condos at their City Center development in Las Vegas by 30 percent.
With Lenders Bullish on Medical Office Market, Healthcare Realty Trust Snags $550M
The medical office market has fared better than most real estate sectors in the midst of the economic crisis, and it appears lenders are taking note. Nashville-based Healthcare Realty Trust Inc. has just entered into a $550 million unsecured revolving credit facility with a group of 16 lenders.
Behringer Harvard REIT Makes Another Big M-F Splash in California
Behringer Harvard Multifamily REIT I recently made what was then 2009’s largest California multi-family acquisition with an $80 million purchase of Waterford Place Apartment Homes near the Bay Area. This week, the REIT topped that with the $96 million purchase of another property—this time in Los Angeles.