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It’s been an unusually relaxed day on Wall Street so far–but maybe everyone’s holding off until the election, at long last, will be over tomorrow. We hope. As of mid-day, the DJIA, after a meandering morning, was down slightly: 8.6 points, or 0.09 percent. The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq likewise moved slightly: down 0.33 percent and up 0.42 percent, respectively. Minneapolis-based U.S. Bancorp, known for its conservative lending practices and relatively good balance sheet, is reported to be selling the government $6.6 billion in preferred stock and warrants, thus participating in the bailout. In a statement, the bank says…

It’s a sign of the times. Almost exactly two months after revealing it had entered into an agreement to acquire an Arcapita Inc. affiliate’s 90 percent stake in a joint venture owning 29 senior housing properties, Health Care REIT Inc. has announced that the $643.5 million deal has been aborted. Health Care REIT cited the uncertainty in the capital markets as a driving factor in its decision to back away from the transaction. Had the plan reached fruition, Health Care REIT would have become a joint venture partner with Sunrise Senior Living Inc., which still owns 10 percent of the…

As incubators of fresh thinking, colleges and universities form a perfect proving ground for commercial real estate’s latest “it” initiative: green and sustainable building. In fact, as Goshow Architects principal Eric Goshow noted, design and education go hand in hand. “Sustainable design is key in providing healthy living and learning environments.” His firm recently designed a 600-bed residence hall and student activity center for Stony Brook University in New York. Scheduled for fall 2009 occupancy, the facility is slated for LEED gold certification.As colleges attract new students and outgrow their existing facilities, green building is taking on an increasingly important…

It has been a tough haul, and it doesn’t look like it will get easier anytime soon. The stock market has been gyrating for weeks now, as investors wait for the next shoe to drop in a market that seems to have more shoes than feet to wear them. The passing of Election Day will likely help, ushering in clearer direction through the determination of the next President of the United States, not to mention whether Congress becomes even more Democratic than it already is.After that, of course, will likely come a lame duck period of inaction until Inauguration Day,…

With the economy shedding jobs like a cat sheds its winter coat and credit markets still in an Arctic freeze, income-property sales have slowed markedly. In fact, Real Capital Analytics Inc. reported that $105.5 billion worth of deals closed during the first eight months of 2008 or are under contract nationwide, off 77 percent from the same period a year ago (just under 75 percent off if the Equity Office Properties Trust sale is excluded). In addition, in the four quarters ending with September, $39.5 billion worth of listed properties were pulled off the market and $10.8 billion in deals…

“I actually think we’re in an equity crisis, not a debt crisis,” declared John Kukral, president of Northwood Investors, speaking on the capital markets session that opened the ULI/Stan Ross Real Estate Trends Conference on Wednesday during the Urban Land Institute’s Fall Meeting. He referred to the lack of equity invested in real estate properties. That lack may become critical as properties come up for recapitalization, with any lender willing to provide new financing insisting on greater levels of equity—which may prove to be in short supply. Kukral pointed to the fact that foreign investors are also having problems. In…

Rep. Barney Frank, chairman of the powerful House Financial Services Committee, Friday warned banks getting money from the $700 billion bailout fund that they must use it for lending and only lending. Other uses, such as acquisitions and bonuses, are in “violation” of the Troubled Asset Relief Program, Frank said.“I am deeply disappointed that a number of financial institutions are distorting the legislation that Congress passed at the president’s request to respond to the credit crisis by making funds available for increased lending,” Frank said in a statement. “Any use of these funds for any purpose other then lending–for bonuses,…

Plunging commercial property values this year could lead to a flurry of investment sales activity in 2009, according to a study by Jones Lang LaSalle Inc. Almost two-thirds of the property owners, development firms, service firms and consultants polled for the biannual study said they intend to bump up their activity next year. Jones Lang LaSalle surveyed professionals who planned to attend the Urban Land Institute’s fall conference this week in Miami. The findings reflect a big jump in the percentage of real estate players that are eyeing increased opportunities for 2009. Jones Lang LaSalle’s most recent poll, taken in…

What’s that gurgling sound? According to First American CoreLogic, a real estate research firm, some 7.5 million homeowners nationwide are underwater–that is, they owe more on their mortgages than their homes are current worth. They suffer from “negative equity,” to use the uninteresting and pointlessly euphemistic technical term. Another 2.1 million are nearly in that situation, with their homes worth less than 5 percent more than their mortgage totals. These totals don’t mean that all of the homeowners involved with face foreclosure, but it puts them at greater risk of it. A whopping 47.8 percent of the outstanding mortgages in…

With $148.2 million in asset sales for the third quarter, Dallas-based Ashford Hospitality Trust Inc. brought sales for the year to $437 million. The company plans to dispose of assets valued at approximately $600 million during 2008, through outright sales and joint ventures. Last year, the company sold 21 assets for $312 million. The $437 million total covers the sale of 10 properties and represents a price of approximately $133,000 per key, a 6.6 percent 12-month NOI cap rate and a 12.0x trailing 12-month EBITDA multiple. In a prepared statement about AHT’s asset sales strategy, president & CEO Monty Bennett…