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Over the next several years, one of the most common questions in commercial real estate will be, “What’s that retail center really worth?” A first-quarter survey of distressed assets offers a clue as to how often that question will apply to underperforming assets. Through the first quarter, 1,276 retail properties were classified as distressed by Real Capital Analytics Inc. That is the most of any property sector and represents assets valued at up to $16.8 billion—second only to the $18 billion in distressed development properties tallied by Real Capital Analytics.To some extent, a combination of experience and anecdotal observation can…

When will it end? That is the question on everyone’s lips, but answers have been slow to emerge. However, it seems investors, brokers and owners anticipate another year of slumping sales before recovery is at hand, according to a new survey from online real estate market LoopNet. LoopNet oversaw the survey of more than 1,500 LoopNet members–including commercial real estate investors, brokers and owners–conducted from May 7 through May 21. Key findings include the fact that only one-third of respondents expect commercial real estate sales transaction activity to recover this year. About 42 percent of respondents, meanwhile, see a recovery…

U.S. properties saw an overall return of minus 7.4 percent last year and minus 9.2 percent in the first quarter of 2009. Those were the findings of Investment Property Databank, the United Kingdom-based real estate performance analysis company, which launched a U.S. version of its property index yesterday and plans to launch a global index next Thursday at its European Property Investment Conference in Barcelona. The office sector was the worst performer last year, with capital growth of minus 12.8 percent, compared to minus 12.2 percent overall, minus 12.2 percent for residential, minus 11.7 percent for industrial and minus 11.4…

In the midst of the sluggish economy and tight credit market, condominium developers are having a tough time selling units. As a result, many projects across the nation have been reverted to rental or stalled outright. But in one of the country’s most hard-hit condo markets–South Florida–at least one developer is breathing a bit easier. DYL Group has received Fannie Mae approval for its recently-completed, 52-story Infinity at Brickell condo project (pictured). The rubber stamp from Fannie will greatly expand financing options for interested unit buyers, and is thus being hailed as a key asset in the overall success of…

Massive job loss and the struggling economy are finally catching up to the multi-family market, but with demand holding strong in certain pockets and government lenders still in full force, this sector of commercial real estate continues to attract financing with far more ease than the office and retail sectors. The 432-unit Village at Secret Lake apartment project in Kissimmee, Fla., fits the bill, having just reeled in a new $47.2 million construction/permanent loan originated by Love Funding. Sited in the Orlando/Disney vacation market, Village at Secret Lake (pictured) was originally planned as a condominium development. Now, plans call for…

It was a grim quarter for the industrial real estate market. The first three months of 2009 saw the sector’s average vacancy rate climb up to 9 percent from 8.3 percent in the fourth quarter of 2008 and 7.2 percent one year ago, marking a four-year high. That is just some of the discouraging news from real estate services firm Cushman & Wakefield Inc.’s latest quarterly MarketBeat report. On the bright side, some factors indicate that the speed of the market’s downward spiral may slow down in the not-too-distant future. Only two markets, the San Francisco Peninsula area and Suburban…

As part of the government’s efforts to relieve the pressure cooker that is the American housing market, the U.S. Department of the Treasury will inject more than $330 million into affordable housing development in Kansas, Michigan, Ohio, Wisconsin, and Puerto Rico.The Treasury funding will be doled out under the American Recovery and Investment Act, which was signed into law in mid-February. The Department of Housing and Urban Development, meanwhile, also announced $83 million for housing development in Ohio. “The Recovery Act offers multiple opportunities for property owners, developers and other stakeholders in the commercial real estate arena,” stated information from…

No one ever promised that the road to economic recovery would be a smooth one, but even those of us who were prepared to navigate hills, curves and steep valleys are finding the beginning stages of economic stabilization more tiresome than we had imagined. We continue to battle a greater amount of negative indicators than positive ones, and the positive indicators appear to be relatively weak, but at least the pace at which we have been sliding down this slope is starting to slow. It is hard not to become battle fatigued with all the ups and downs on this…

New York City Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg was among the dignitaries on hand Tuesday in New York’s Diamond District for the official launch of the 34-story International Gem Tower.Located at 50 W. 47 St. between Fifth and Sixth Avenues, the tower, a project of Extell Development Co., is slated for completion in mid 2011 and is to contain up to 84 units of office space for the diamond and jewelry industries.Speaking at the tower’s launch, Bloomberg noted the importance of the diamond trade to the city of New York, and New York’s importance as a diamond center in the eyes…

Economic strain is weighing down hotel markets worldwide, and volatility in the financial markets persists. Jones Lang LaSalle Hotels recently conducted its biannual Hotel Investor Sentiment Survey, revealing that investors’ six-month, short-term trading performance expectations across the Americas have decreased further and that investors are more pessimistic than following Sept. 11, 2001. However, the rate of decline has slowed.And investors’ medium-term, two-year performance outlook has improved for the first time in two-and-a-half years, indicative of the expectation that the low point in operating fundamentals is nearing. Investors now expect positive medium-term trading in 18 of the 29 markets tracked across…