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While many hospitality developments have been halted or postponed, projects like the new four-story aloft hotel in Bolingbrook, Ill., continue moving forward. McShane Construction Co. topped out the project this week for developer LTD Management Co.While that project is slated for a July completion as part of a mixed-use development featuring more than 1 million square feet of shopping, dining and entertainment in a pedestrian-friendly environment, other projects are moving forward, too, albeit scaled back to a certain degree.Hotel development is being challenged by today’s rigid credit markets, but projects that can be developed in the $10 million to $20…

The National Association of Realtors reported on Wednesday that sales of existing homes fell 5.3 percent in January, which translates to an annual pace of 4.49 million, the most sluggish such pace since July 1997. The drop came after a small uptick in December that was attributed to falling prices.Prices are still falling, but industry speculation has it that some buyers were holding off in January in anticipation of government action of some kind on the housing problem. In any case, roughly 45 percent of home sales in January involved distressed property transactions, including foreclosures, reported the NAR. The association…

The U.S. REIT index plummeted 38 percent last year, leaving the door open for investors with access to funds to purchase shares at bargain basement prices, and Alexander Otto is taking advantage of the opportunity. Developers Diversified Realty Corp. has announced that it plans to sell 30 million common shares to Alexander Otto, CEO of Germany-based shopping center developer ECE Projektmanagement and a DDR shareholder, for $112.5 million. DDR entered into a binding purchase agreement for the sale of the shares to Otto and certain members of Otto’s family. Marking a 33 percent premium over the closing market price for…

Self-storage may not be as bogged down by the sluggish economy as other sectors, if recent deals are any indication. The latest news is the formation of a $50 million joint venture focused on self-storage started by Carey Storage, an affiliate of investment firm W. P. Carey & Co., and Harbert Management Corp. W. P. Carey contributed $20 million and Harbert contributed the remaining $30 million. The venture was seeded with an existing portfolio made up of 13 properties, which have been acquired by W. P. Carey’s self-storage-focused investment team over the past two years. W. P. Carey currently manages…

As commercial real estate prices continue to drop, the latest report on just how far they have fallen was released this week, with the latest Moody’s/REAL National All Property Type Index measuring 160.46 for December–a decrease of 2.2 percent over the previous month and a decline of 14.9 percent for the year. Moreover, the index is 7.8 percent lower than it was two years ago. “As in previous years, the number of repeat sale transactions increased in December when compared with November,” said Neal Elkin, president of REAL. “In addition, the dollar volume of activity also rose compared with November….

The commercial real estate investment outlook for 2009 looks grim at best, but there is more to that picture than meets the eye, contends a just-published capital markets report from Jones Lang LaSalle Inc. Smart players who can bring plenty of cash to the table will be poised to reap a once-in-a-generation bonanza. In the years to come, the report states, this year may “be most remembered for presenting some of the most attractive investment opportunities in living memory for astute investors who are very focused on quality assets in the market and armed with large amounts of equity at…

The prospect of nearby commercial development still raises the hackles of many Americans, but the economic crisis is also causing people to look more kindly on building in their communities, concludes an annual survey conducted by the Saint Consulting Group. Opposition to development remains remarkably consistent throughout all regions of the United States, according to Saint Consulting, which advises developers on winning approval for controversial projects. Seventy-nine percent of those in the West said that they would oppose new development in their home towns; the survey found the lowest level of anti-development sentiment, 70 percent, in the Midwest. The national…

The current market can be a feast for those entities that still have funds on hand, and institutional investors are among the few. For them, this turbulent market is a fertile ground for opportunity but, according to a new report by Prudential Investment Management, certain steps must be taken to achieve maximum results. The report was released the same week as a Jones Lang LaSalle report that claimed the investment market will soon be rife with bargains available to firms with capital to spend.  Most Institutional investors have a leg up on certain other investment vehicles like, for example, REITs–the…

The latest from the White House, which has been a absolute whirlwind of activity in the last month, is a proposal floated over the weekend to cut the federal deficit in the medium term by raising taxes on the wealthy and by winding down the war in Iraq, among other steps. Currently the annualized federal deficit is about $1.3 trillion, which is on its way to $1.5 trillion, counting the stimulus. The Obama proposal would take that to $533 billion by the end of his term. Besides allowing Bush-era tax cuts to expire in 2010, the proposal would reportedly tax…

With an eye toward capitalizing on the widely anticipated discounting of commercial real estate assets, Charlotte, N.C.-based Spectrum Properties has just established Spectrum Properties Multifamily Acquisitions Inc. The new subsidiary will acquire $200 million to $500 million in apartment communities and student housing properties at a considerable discount to replacement cost–but not just yet. “Timing is the $64,000 question,” John Gray (pictured), president of Spectrum Properties Multifamily Acquisitions, told CPN. “We’re confident there’s going to be multi-family assets that will be available at attractive prices, but there’s been a gap between what buyers want to pay and what sellers want…