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2011 Retail Market Outlook and Investment Strategies WebcastJoin Marcus & Millichap for a comprehensive update and outlook of the retail property sector
Local
Elliott Bay Plaza apartments fetch $54.25M
In the Puget Sound area's third largest apartment deal of the year, the State Teachers Retirement System of Ohio has sold the 233-unit Elliott Bay Plaza Apartments in Seattle's Belltown to Boston-based Berkshire Group for $54.25 million, or $232,832 a unit.
Colliers International ranks No. 2
When asked to name global companies headquartered here, most Seattleites could readily list Microsoft and Starbucks — and maybe even Russell Investments, which recently relocated to Seattle from Tacoma.
Family buys industrial properties in Renton, Kent
A local family acting as MRS Investments has paid $37.9 million for two industrial properties in Renton and Kent, according to Grubb & Ellis, a commercial real estate services firm based in Santa Ana, Calif.
In the Puget Sound area's third largest apartment deal of the year, the State Teachers Retirement System of Ohio has sold the 233-unit Elliott Bay Plaza Apartments in Seattle's Belltown to Boston-based Berkshire Group for $54.25 million, or $232,832 a unit.
Colliers International ranks No. 2
When asked to name global companies headquartered here, most Seattleites could readily list Microsoft and Starbucks — and maybe even Russell Investments, which recently relocated to Seattle from Tacoma.
Family buys industrial properties in Renton, Kent
A local family acting as MRS Investments has paid $37.9 million for two industrial properties in Renton and Kent, according to Grubb & Ellis, a commercial real estate services firm based in Santa Ana, Calif.
Pulte Group buys 900 lots in Washington
The Murray Franklyn Family of Companies sold about 900 lots in its Redmond Ridge Development and Snoqualmie Ridge II Development – a joint project with Quadrant Homes, the companies announced today.
Washington Outlook: Rentals to lead real estate market recovery in 2011
It likely will take at least three years before developers prepare new office buildings in the Puget Sound region, but other facets of the commercial real estate market, such as apartment construction, are recovering nicely.
Justen joins hunt for property deals, leaves Samis Land
Longtime Seattle developer William Justen, who turned around dozens of downtown buildings as head of Samis Land Co., is leaving to form a venture that will invest in distressed properties, joining a growing number of high-profile local real estate executives hunting for bargains.
Goodman Real Estate Sells Westland Building for $10M
SEATTLE-A Pioneer Square office building, situated at South King Street and First Avenue South, has been sold for $10.3 million. An affiliate of Seattle-based Goodman Real Estate has sold the Westland Building, a 103-year-old, six-story building, to Manchester Capital Management, a Vermont firm. Goodman bought the building for $11.5 million...
Central Oregon’s Economy is Really Waking Up
Early this week we told you about strong tourism numbers; and now, it’s another sign that the economy could be waking up in Central Oregon.
Security Properties Establishes Property Management Arm
Multi-family real estate owner Security Properties has launched Madrona Ridge Residential, a new property management affiliate. Madrona Ridge will provide property management services for apartment communities nationwide.
$18 million Hazelrigg order
A Mercer Island couple has obtained an $18.2 million judgment against local lender Thomas Hazelrigg III in connection with a 5,000-home development that was planned for the city of Yelm, in Thurston County.
The Murray Franklyn Family of Companies sold about 900 lots in its Redmond Ridge Development and Snoqualmie Ridge II Development – a joint project with Quadrant Homes, the companies announced today.
Washington Outlook: Rentals to lead real estate market recovery in 2011
It likely will take at least three years before developers prepare new office buildings in the Puget Sound region, but other facets of the commercial real estate market, such as apartment construction, are recovering nicely.
Justen joins hunt for property deals, leaves Samis Land
Longtime Seattle developer William Justen, who turned around dozens of downtown buildings as head of Samis Land Co., is leaving to form a venture that will invest in distressed properties, joining a growing number of high-profile local real estate executives hunting for bargains.
Goodman Real Estate Sells Westland Building for $10M
SEATTLE-A Pioneer Square office building, situated at South King Street and First Avenue South, has been sold for $10.3 million. An affiliate of Seattle-based Goodman Real Estate has sold the Westland Building, a 103-year-old, six-story building, to Manchester Capital Management, a Vermont firm. Goodman bought the building for $11.5 million...
Central Oregon’s Economy is Really Waking Up
Early this week we told you about strong tourism numbers; and now, it’s another sign that the economy could be waking up in Central Oregon.
Security Properties Establishes Property Management Arm
Multi-family real estate owner Security Properties has launched Madrona Ridge Residential, a new property management affiliate. Madrona Ridge will provide property management services for apartment communities nationwide.
$18 million Hazelrigg order
A Mercer Island couple has obtained an $18.2 million judgment against local lender Thomas Hazelrigg III in connection with a 5,000-home development that was planned for the city of Yelm, in Thurston County.
Opus Northwest gives bank future condo sales; winds down
In an unusual deal, developer Opus Northwest LLC is handing over its earnings on condominium sales at Fifteen Twenty-One Second Avenue to lender U.S. Bank even though it already has repaid its construction loan on the project.
State to sell old mental hospital, other properties
In an effort to raise money, the state is looking to sell 10 surplus properties across the state — including a former mental hospital in Sedro-Woolley and a juvenile jail in Centralia.
OLYMPIA — For sale: a former mental hospital just listed as a historic site, a juvenile jail and a handful of office buildings and other state properties that are vacant or soon will be vacated.
National
Simon Property Bid for Capital Shopping Values Mall Owner at $4.6 Billion
Simon Property Group Inc., the largest U.S. mall owner, made an offer for Capital Shopping Centres Group Plc that values the U.K. company at 2.9 billion pounds ($4.6 billion).
Centro's Fate Now Lies With Opportunistic Investors
The convoluted saga of debt-laden Australian shopping-center owner Centro Properties Group has taken yet another twist: Most of the banks set to decide Centro's fate by December have been replaced by hedge funds and other opportunistic investors.
Commercial real estate vacancy rate holding steady
The commercial real estate vacancy rate in Las Vegas held steady during the fourth quarter — a sign analysts said signals the worst of the downturn may be over for the retail, office and industrial market.
Beacon fixes $2.7B Seattle/D.C. loan
Boston-based Beacon Capital Partners has successfully modified a $2.7 billion loan on a portfolio of 20 office buildings in Seattle and Washington, D.C., the Wall Street Journal reports.
Blackstone Reworks $7 Billion in Debt
Blackstone Group LP has reached an agreement to restructure about $7 billion of the remaining debt tied to its epic 2007 purchase of Sam Zell's Equity Office Properties Trust, the largest leveraged buyout ever, according to people familiar with the matter.
Ruling Offers a Peek Into Boom's Fallout
A national real-estate company committed fraud in an Austin, Texas, office-building deal, an arbitrator ruled, a sign of the troubles stemming from a popular type of commercial-property deal done during the boom for small investors.
Back to Basics for Tishman
Tishman Speyer Properties' purchase of a new Chicago office tower is the latest sign that the firm is going back to the basics as it emerges from one of the most devastating commercial real-estate cycles in decades.
TPG to Buy ProLogis Assets
Warehouse company ProLogis said it is selling a portfolio of retail and mixed-use assets to private-equity firm TPG for $505 million, the latest in a series of sales by ProLogis as the company seeks to pay down debt and get in position for future growth.
Manhattan’s 111 Eighth Avenue Trades for $1.9B
Leave it to the Big Apple to lead the pack. The city just scored the biggest non-portfolio commercial real estate deal in the U.S. this year with Google Inc.’s $1.9 billion acquisition of the 2.9 million square-foot building at 111 Eighth Ave., home of the company’s New York City headquarters, from a partnership involving Taconic Investment Partners, Jamestown Properties and the New York State Common Retirement Fund.
Financial News We’d Love to See
The financial crises of the last couple of years spawned myriad reforms. But there are other undesirable situations around the globe that still need changing
Fresh Signs of Life in Office Market
The amount of occupied U.S. office space increased for the first time in nearly three years during the fourth quarter of 2010 as more companies that had been postponing real-estate decisions got back into the leasing market.
For Developer, California Dream Is a Reality
In the latest sign that financing is starting to trickle back into California's property market, a group of investors is pumping cash into a huge, but stalled, $1.4 billion master-planned community being developed on the site of a former military base.
Homewood Suites In Schaumburg, Il Is Sold For $5 Million
Sperry Van Ness, one of the nation’s largest commercial real estate brokerage firms, has completed the sale of a 108-room Homewood Suites to Des Plaines, IL-based AAA Hospitality, LLC, for $5 million. The property is located in Schaumburg, IL, a northwest suburb of Chicago.
2010: A Year of Strategic Change and Growth For Commercial Brokerage Firms
With Transactions and Profits On the Upswing, Property Services Firms -- Especially the Expanding Middle Market -- Will Get an Idea of Whether They Made All the Right Moves During the Downturn
Commercial Realty Market Healing: Realty Pro
An uptick in trophy property sales are among a number of signs indicating a rebound in the commercial real estate market, Tom Fink, sr. vice president at Trepp, and independent provider of CMBS and commercial real estate information, told CNBC on Wednesday.
CS to sell $2.8 billion CRE portfolio to Apollo: report
(Reuters) - Private equity firm Apollo Management APOLO.UL is buying a $2.8 billion portfolio of commercial real estate loans from Credit Suisse (CSGN.VX) for $1.2 billion, the Wall Street Journal reported on its website on Thursday.
U.S. Commercial Property Rises For Second Consecutive Month, Moody's Says
U.S. commercial property prices rose 1.3 percent in October from the previous month, the second consecutive monthly gain, Moody’s Investors Service said. The Moody’s/REAL Commercial Property Price Index climbed 3.2 percent from a year earlier, Moody’s said in a report today.
Simon Property gives up CSC takeover bid
(Reuters) - U.S. firm Simon Property (SPG.N) gave up its 2.9 billion pound ($4.5 billion) bid to take over Britain's Capital Shopping Centres (CSC) (CSCG.L) on Tuesday, paving the way for the UK's largest mall-owner to buy the Trafford Center mall.
It's All Over for Simon's Bid
It appears that mall mogul David Simon has finally thrown in the towel.
The chief executive of Simon Property Group Inc. has been pursuing for months the U.K. retail landlord Capital Shopping Centres Group PLC. But CSC, which has preferred a deal with Peel Group, has been fending him off.
Where Buyers Still Reign
Despite growing signs of a broad commercial real-estate recovery, it remains a buyer's market in many parts of the country.
International
Spain Mortgages Stir Concern
For months, Spain's residential mortgage sector has performed an impressive feat: Despite tumbling home prices and sky-high unemployment, just a small portion of mortgage borrowers have fallen behind on their payments.
Hong Kong's Cooling Measures Threaten Big Projects
HONG KONG—Signs are mounting that government measures aimed at taking the speculative heat out of Hong Kong's residential-property market are pushing some buyers to the sidelines, hitting sales of some big new projects.
AMB Plans Brazilian Venture
AMB Property Corp., a developer of industrial real estate, is joining forces with a university endowment to invest $422 million in the development of distribution centers in Brazil.
AMB and the endowment, which hasn't been identified, have created a fund that has acquired what had been AMB's 50% stake in a joint venture it formed in Brazil with Cyrela Commercial Properties, a local partner.
Scottish Factory Gets Second Wind
In March, demolition workers will begin tearing apart a one-million-square-foot memory-chip factory that, despite being built more than a dozen years ago and owned at different times by two of the world's biggest electronics manufacturers, has never produced a single item.
Singapore REIT Seeks $778.5 Million Via IPO
CapitaMall Trust's former chief executive, Pua Seck Guan, plans to raise about one billion Singapore dollars (US$778.5 million) through an initial public offering of a real-estate investment trust in Singapore, a person familiar with the situation said Tuesday.
For Spain, Real-Estate Outlook Appears Bleak
Amid all the uncertainties facing European real estate in 2011, there is one abiding belief: Spain is headed for more pain.
Ireland May Set Up Second Agency to Help Shrink Banks
Jan. 6 (Bloomberg) -- Ireland may set up a second asset- management agency to slim down the country’s banking system and help lenders reduce their reliance on European Central Bank funding.
Distressed CRE
Red Roof's Ordeal Nears an End One for the Books Seeking a Cure
Red Roof Inn Inc.'s debt saga appears to be coming to an end, with the voluntary forfeiture of 127 of its hotels to holders of their mortgages.
Starwood Again Circles Condo Carcasses
Barry Sternlicht's Starwood Capital Group is moving to expand its investments in distressed condominiums, leveraging the experience it has gained in the 15 months since it led a group that bought the assets of the failed Corus Bank.
Hard-Hit Cities Could Face A Long Road to Recovery
Some cities battered by the housing crisis may not fully recover for decades, and lenders in those places are likely to remain cautious for years, a study by the Mortgage Bankers Association concluded.
Shenzhen New World Group buys Sheraton Universal hotel
The estimated $90-million deal for the inn overlooking Universal City marks the second local purchase for the Chinese real estate developer, which bought the Los Angeles Marriott Downtown last year. A Chinese real estate firm with one Los Angeles hotel in its fold closed on a deal to buy the Sheraton Universal hotel, showing a growing trust in a recovery of the hospitality industry and the rising interest of Asian investors in U.S. commercial property.
Commercial Real Estate on the Mend?
Well, not quite. It's more like pre-mending, as the rate of growth in delinquencies slows down:
The Upside?
Things Could Be Worse
The year now ending has been a sobering one for the commercial real estate industry, as mortgage defaults have multiplied. Two years ago, barely 1 percent of such loans were delinquent. A year ago that was up to 6 percent, and late this year the figure hit 9 percent.
Home Prices Will Decline for Years: Zuckerman
Home prices will continue to decline for several years, Mort Zuckerman, the chairman and CEO of Boston Properties, told CNBC Monday.
“I’m pessimistic about residential real estate,” said Zuckerman, whose firm [BXP 84.73 -1.14 (-1.33%) ] specializes in high-end commercial real estate and last week bought the iconic John Hancock Tower in Boston’s Back Bay for $930 million.
Centro's Fate Now Lies With Opportunistic Investors
The convoluted saga of debt-laden Australian shopping-center owner Centro Properties Group has taken yet another twist: Most of the banks set to decide Centro's fate by December have been replaced by hedge funds and other opportunistic investors.
CRE Trends
New Test for Hudson Chief
Victor Coleman, the chief executive of the fledgling real-estate investment trust that just agreed to purchase San Francisco's historic Rincon Center, has been playing to a tough audience.
Retail Improves, but Doubts Persist
U.S. malls and shopping centers continued their slow, fitful recovery from the recession in the fourth quarter, holding relatively steady in both vacancies and lease rates.
Western Washington home sales increase in December
The number of closed home sales increased in Western Washington in December compared with November, and was approaching the number of home sales from a year ago.
U.S. Commercial Property Rises For Second Consecutive Month, Moody's Says
U.S. commercial property prices rose 1.3 percent in October from the previous month, the second consecutive monthly gain, Moody’s Investors Service said. The Moody’s/REAL Commercial Property Price Index climbed 3.2 percent from a year earlier, Moody’s said in a report today.
Goldman Deal Pushes Commercial Mortgage Bond Sales Past $11 Billion Mark
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Citigroup Inc. sold $876.45 million of bonds linked to U.S. commercial real estate, pushing 2010 sales to $11.5 billion as strategists forecast next year’s offerings will quadruple.
New Names Are Moving Up the CMBS Charts
As the market for commercial-mortgage-backed securities begins to thaw from a two-year deep freeze, a new pecking order among underwriters is emerging, with J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. as the dominant player and onetime market leader Morgan Stanley not yet on the boards.
The 5 states where housing will recover first
ORLANDO, Fla. (MarketWatch) — Housing will rebound moderately in 2011, economists at the International Building Show here are predicting and should gain even more steam in 2012.
Top 10 Most Searched Markets at Realtor.com
When Web visitors come to Realtor.com, they most often are looking in the sunshine states for real estate, according to a list of the most searched real estate markets at Realtor.com for 2010.
CRE Blogs
China's Real-Estate Frenzy
Last week I sold an apartment in Beijing for more than 2.5 times what I paid for it five years and three months ago. When I asked the buyer why he was optimistic about real estate, he explained that land was limited in Chinese cities and government policies would keep the market going up.
Investment Activity Stands to Gain Ground in 2011
This may well be the year of the foundation. According to Grubb & Ellis’ 2011 real estate forecast, fundamentals may have years to go before returning to their pre-recessionary peaks, but some encouraging signs are providing a solid base.
Get a Loan to Buy Commercial Real Estate
Now is a great time to buy, renovate, or refinance the real estate you need to expand your businesses. There is a surplus of well-priced commercial real estate on the market; for some, this could be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Getting a loan is still challenging, though. By following these two commonsense strategies, you can improve your chances of owning your commercial property.
CRE Podcasts
State of the State of the Commercial Real Estate Industry
CREPIG Audio Panel Interview
First in a series of CRE Industry panel interviews. Commercial Asset Managers, Lenders, Lawyers and a Developer discuss the state of the commercial real estate industry and where we are headed. This is a great interview to start the new year.
CRE Events - Keeping an Industry Alive - Ryan Slack
Ryan Slack, formally of Property Shark is now the CEO of GreenPearl Events and he took some time to speak with us about how producing professional events and conferences for the commercial real estate industry is not only helping keep the industry alive, but helping the CRE Industry professionals thrive.
Modify My Mortgage with Jim Richman
Our Featured Guest is Jim Richman a Former H.U.D. Commissioner, President and founder of Richman & Associates Inc., (a real estate and business debt restructuring firm specializing in foreclosure solutions and financial consulting), Former senior loan officer with Coast Savings and Loan and Pacific Thrift and Loan, Former Burbank City Councilman and Mayor, Former President of NOVA, a sheltered workshop for the handicapped and Former board member of the American Red Cross.
Residential and Commercial Bulk REO
I recently jumped at the chance to interview Alan Pollack of Delta Investment Group, about what he is doing and his take on the current commercial markets. Alan also talks about how to deal with banks and goes over how to find assets, buyers and more.
CRE Webcasts
Women in Real Estate: Changes and Challenges
Winners of the 2010 20 Under 40 Awards talk with CPE TV about how they got ahead and offer advice to others climbing the real estate career ladder during CREW Network’s annual Convention and Marketplace.
Sam Zell, NYU Keynote Commercial Real Estate In the Future
