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Starwood to Acquire $503M Loan Portfolio

Real estate finance and investment REIT Starwood Property Trust announced on Friday that it will acquire a $503 million portfolio of performing commercial loans from TIAA-CREF.

GGP to Simon: $10B Offer ‘Not Sufficient’

General Growth Properties has a message for fellow mall operator Simon Property Group: Thanks, but you’ve got competition.

Simon Makes $10B Bid for GGP

As troubled shopping-mall REIT General Growth Properties struggles to regain its footing after bankruptcy reorganization, a possible buyer has emerged in the form of fellow mall owner Simon Property Group.

Lone Star Funds Rescues Long-Suffering Lodgian with $270M Acquisition

Hotel firm Lodgian Inc. has a new lease on life after a $270M cash infusion from Lone Star Funds.

Compelling Opportunities in International Real Estate

Investors in U.S. REITs and other U.S. property companies should consider investing in publicly traded REITs and property companies abroad. Within developed markets globally, the aggregate equity market capitalization of this sector totals $600-plus billion, two thirds of which are outside of the United States. My team and I continue to identify very compelling investment opportunities in international markets and encourage investors to consider “going global” as part of their real estate allocations.

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.

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.

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.