Regions
Economy Watch: CBRE Profits From Asian Rebound
Los Angeles-based CB Richard Ellis Group Inc. has reported net income of $64.3 million, or 21 cents a share, for 4Q09. That compares quite favorably with the same quarter in 2008, when the multinational brokerage lost $1.1 billion, or $4.70 a share.
Voters Reject Alameda Point Development Project
Voters in the San Francisco Bay Area city of Alameda have soundly voted down Measure B, which would have provided for development on Alameda Point, a former Naval air station.
JLL: Shadow Space Dogs Boston
Shadow space will continue to dog the Boston market even as the overall economy improves, according to Jones Lang LaSalle.
SF’s Transbay Terminal to Benefit from Influx of Funds
Two different streams of funds will provide for reconstruction of San Francisco’s Transbay Terminal: $400M in stimulus cash and a $171M loan from the Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act.
$135M Financing Secured for 1MSF Yonkers Shopping Center
It’s almost like the good old days of 2007 when loans over $100 million for commercial real estate practically rained from the sky. Undeniably, those times have not returned, but news that Brooks Shopping Center L.L.C., owner of the 1 million square-foot Cross County Shopping Center in Yonkers, N.Y., has gotten its hands on a $135 million first mortgage to finance the property’s redevelopment certainly brings back good memories.
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.
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.
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.
Manhattan Retail Hit Hard in ’09, But Turnaround on Tap
It’s been a rough year for retail, even in tony Manhattan. The crumbling of Wall Street in the fourth-quarter of 2008 spurred the downward spiral of the market and the recession just added salt to the wound, according to a third quarter report by Marcus & Millichap Real Estate Investment Services.
As Gov’t Demand Buoys DC Office Market; ING Makes $73M Sale
The Washington, D.C., office market may have reached a turning point in demand as the region experienced improved fundamentals last quarter—figures propelled by expanded demand for government office space. And if deals like the recent $73 million sale of an office building in Falls Church, Va., are any indication, buyers are taking interest in the area’s strong demographics..