Business Specialties

Things are looking up a little for the U.S. apartment market, if the latest quarterly survey by the National Multi Housing Council, which queried 79 CEOs and other senior executives of apartment-related firms nationwide, is any indication. That isn’t to say that conditions are strong in the multi-family rental segment–just better than in the early dark days of the Panic of 2008. The NMHC’s sales volume index, for instance, is at 30 as of April 2009, a considerable improvement from the October 2008 dismal reading of 4. A sales volume index reading above 50 means that sales volume around the…

CMBS loan delinquencies and defaults are pushing up special servicing volume at a blistering pace, according to a pair of first-quarter updates published last week by Fitch Ratings. During the first three months of 2009, the balance of loans rated by Fitch in special servicing jumped 48 percent to $23.7 billion, representing 758 loans. Imminent default was cited as the reason for 73 percent of the special-servicing transfers as measured by unpaid loan balances. That trend picked up the momentum from 2008, when specially serviced loan balances ballooned 248 percent to $16 billion. Since the end of 2007, the percentage…

At least one category of commercial real estate investment is enjoying a surge in activity, though not in pricing. Net lease transactions rose several hundred percent for all three major net lease property sectors during the first quarter compared to the last three months of 2008, according to a study by Boulder Net Lease Funds L.L.C. The number of industrial net lease properties trading in January, February and March jumped 464 percent compared to the previous quarter, an increase Boulder described as “astounding.” Perhaps more remarkable, industrial net-lease trades rebounded from a fourth quarter during which sales had hit their…

It’s no secret that for-sale multi-family properties most everywhere are moving as slowly as glaciers in the days before global warming. Not only has it been difficult simply to get financing for the purchase of a multi-family unit, but there are also other obstacles for buyers. Earlier this month, for instance, Fannie Mae added new fees to condominium loans, even for those buyers with high credit scores, and some lenders are refusing to make loans on condos that aren’t occupied by the seller. But that isn’t keeping developers and brokers from dreaming up incentives to drum some interest in their…

While many lenders are looking for any hint of poor financial health among borrowers, those looking for funds might also look under their lender’s hoods. Or so office owner and developer Thomas Properties Group discovered during a recent complex transaction. Thomas Properties and some partners completed a debt restructuring for a portfolio of office buildings in Austin, replacing a $100 million unfunded commitment from Lehman Brothers Inc. with a $60 million priority credit facility that the ownership group will use for lease-up costs and property improvements.Lehman Brothers, whose bankruptcy last September shook the financial world to its core, owned half…

It can be very difficult and expensive to obtain a construction loan for a hotel these days. But there are ways to pull them off. One is by taking advantage of the Federal Historic Rehabilitation Tax Credit.The credit is an incentive from the National Park Service that commercial builders and developers can use in redeveloping structures that are at least 50 years old or are otherwise deemed historic. This route can reduce a developer’s required equity position to around 20 percent, according to John Campo, president of Campo Architects. It can also provide access to major urban markets, Campo said,…

Office landlords have a lot on their minds these days. As companies contract, demand for space drops, and landlords are being pressured to lower rents–which no one wants to do–or increase incentives for tenants to stay, which is only a little more palatable. Sublease space, which bothered office property owners in the early 2000s, has also returned. So has shadow space. “Shadow space is definitely a reality that landlords will be forced to address in many major commercial real estate markets,” Kenneth Boyle, managing partner at Greenwich, Conn.-based Hanover Real Estate Partners, told CPN. “Current vacancy rates across the country…

Entering into a new $250 million secured credit facility, HRPT Properties Trust has joined the ranks of those real estate companies that have managed to secure big-ticket loans in the midst of one of the most unfriendly lending environments in recent history.  The non-recourse credit facility, which matures April 24, 2012, and comes with an option for a one-year extension, is backed by a group of office assets owned by HRPT subsidiary Government Properties Income Trust. “As of December 31, 2008, there is 99 percent occupancy in the 29 government-tenanted buildings that secured this facility,” Timothy Bonang, HRPT director of…

The $25.5 million sale of Crossroads Entertainment Center in Chino Hills, Calif., seemed unremarkable at first glance, at least by dollar value. The new owner, GAS Distomo Inc., bought the property from 26 Del Sur Crossroads L.L.C., a privately held seller represented by Faris Lee Investments. However, 1031-exchange deals are a rarity nowadays, making this deal something of a standout.Whether they involve single-tenant properties or multi-tenant assets like the Crossroads Entertainment Center, 1031-exchange volume is declining even more precipitously than are investment sales in general. By some accounts, 2009 totals have dropped 80 to 85 percent year over year. The…

It’s a whole new world for corporate real estate owners, according to the 2009 State of the Industry Report by CoreNet Global, which was released Monday. The report distilled the views and opinions of more than 60 corporate real estate executives from around the world, along with information gleaned from various corporate real estate case studies. In some ways, the report noted, the economic squeeze has caused companies to turn to corporate real estate departments and third-party real estate service providers even more than previously to help contain costs. For example, companies are still interested in greening their real estate…