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Moody’s Investors Service reported on Thursday that commercial real estate prices in the United States dropped 14.9 percent in 2008–a greater drop for the year than housing prices (down 12 percent), as it happens. Commercial property prices are roughly 16 percent off their peak of October 2007, the report continued, a drop that effectively turns the clock back to 2005 when it comes to commercial real estate valuation. Such valuation must have been a little hard to gauge, however, since separately the National Association of Realtors reported that U.S. commercial real estate activity is the slowest it has been in…

Robert Sulentic, CEO of CB Richard Ellis Inc.’s development services business, has been pushed up the ladder to the company’s CFO position as the company navigates the waters of the struggling commercial real estate industry. Sulentic replaces Kenneth Kay, who in November of last year, resigned his post of six years to become CFO of Las Vegas Sands Corp.Speaking to CPN, a CBRE spokesperson confirmed that the company engaged in a full search to fill the CFO position. Sulentic (pictured), who boasts over a quarter-century of real estate industry experience under his belt, emerged as the best man for the…

As high-end resorts continue to feel the crunch of the staggering economy, the latest firm going down in the bankruptcy rolls is Trump Entertainment Resorts Inc. along with subsidiaries Trump Entertainment Resorts Holdings L.P. and Trump Entertainment Resorts Funding Inc. Those entities filed voluntary petitions for relief under Chapter 11 in United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of New Jersey in Camden. Donald and Ivanka Trump resigned as members of the board of directors of the company on Feb. 13. He was chairman of the board and a member of the board’s executive committee. She was a member of…

In terms of profits, Wal-Mart took a haircut in its most recent fiscal quarter, but not a bath. Net income for the period ended Jan. 31 was $3.79 billion, or 96 cents a share, down from $4.1 billion, or $1.02 a share, during the same period a year ago. For a company that’s used to growth upon growth, that might be a disappointment, but most retailers would probably trade their recent numbers with Wal-Mart’s without hesitation. The retailer’s stock nudged upward 3.86 percent on the news.The best category for Wal-Mart was reportedly groceries as consumers cut spending in other categories,…

Who’s still opening retail locations in this difficult economy? Once again following Apple’s example, Microsoft Corp., for one, has decided to open a chain of retail locations.Interestingly, the software behemoth has hired an exec from Wal-Mart, the retail behemoth, David Porter, to oversee its entrance into the retail biz. How will the Microsoft stores be different? Details are few so far, but instead of genius bars, there will be guru zones (or something) in the store. Instead of an Apple logo and ultra-stylish decor, there will be… a pomegranate and cinder blocks? Time will tell. Buffalo Wild Wings is also…

Once regarded as the center of community activity, the enclosed regional mall is, unfortunately, becoming the center of rising concern as it increasingly falls victim to today’s economic recession.To combat the harsh reality of record-level store closings that are driving mall vacancies up and asset values down, investor/owners are now being forced to rethink the future of the nation’s 2,000 enclosed regional malls, particularly those classified as “dead,” or centers with acres of undeveloped parking lots and underutilized land. Owner/investors are seeing that the same dicey economic environment, characterized in part by shifting demographics and a growing antipathy toward suburban…

Many economists warn against reading too much into last month’s surprising increase in retail sales, arguing that the data could be a mere blip on the way to the next round of bad news about consumer fears. But at least one top executive suggests that the results could actually be a genuinely, if modestly, positive sign.“I don’t think you can throw the January report out the window,” said Terry Brown, CEO of Edens & Avant, which operates 130 lifestyle centers, power centers and neighborhood centers in 14 East Coast states. “It does create a slight bit of optimism when there…

At the Americas Lodging Investment Summit held in San Diego in late January, Hilton Hotels Corp. announced Home2 Suites by Hilton, a midscale extended-stay brand. Bill Duncan, global head of brand management for Hilton’s Homewood Suites and Home2 Suites, talked with hospitality editor about the brands.Gilligan: How did Home2 Suites come to be?Duncan: We have worked on this since March of last year. We have received a large amount of owner input, and that information has helped us build and design the brand. We talked to the owners of our focused-service brands, and we received input from customers, as well….

The most surprising metric for the office market last year was that, despite the recession, net absorption totaled negative 3.4 million square feet, a paltry sum compared with the 111 million square feet of negative absorption during the 2001 recession and 2002-03 jobless recovery. Why hasn’t the office market reacted more forcefully to what will soon become the longest postwar recession? The most plausible explanation is that tenants haven’t had time to react. The labor market fell off a cliff in September 2008 with payroll job losses totaling 2.5 million during the five months since then. That’s on top of…

Citing a commitment to green energy, growing corporate demand and stable costs, an office owner/developer have made a major commitment to wind energy.Earlier this month, Foulger-Pratt Cos., an office owner and developer that focuses on the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area, committed to a purchase of 34 million kilowatt-hours of wind energy, in the form of Renewable Energy Credits, for each of the next two years. The agreement totals $325,000. The purchase will offset 54 million pounds of carbon, equal to removing 4,500 cars from the road, per year, and it will power 4.8 million square feet of office space in…