Scott Miller's December 2012 CRE Newsletter


Local

 


SEATTLE—In the early 1990s, as Microsoft Corp. MSFT -0.92% co-founder Paul Allen began placing large bets in the technology boom, he made a relatively small loan of $20 million to an organization that was planning a giant park in Seattle.
 


A coveted property in downtown Bellevue that’s ripe for redevelopment is on the market.
 


LOS ANGELES-GlobeSt.com has learned exclusively that multifamily investors are making an aggressive push westward into Seattle, Phoenix, Los Angeles and San Diego, according to Jones Lang LaSalle’s third-quarter 2012 West Coast Multifamily Outlook
 


The seven-story, 100-unit Muriel's Landing Apartments complex will open next week in Seattle's University District.
 


Briar Development, a real estate holding company for the Bellingham-based Haggen family, has sold a portfolio of retail properties in Washington and Oregon for $175 million to MGP X Properties LLC of San Diego
 


Goodman Real Estate and Capri Capital Partners LLC announced Tuesday that they’re buying the 25-story Tower 801 apartment building in downtown Seattle for $50.1 million
 


A federal grand jury today indicted Michael R. Mastro and his wife Linda Mastro on 43 counts of bankruptcy fraud, dramatically raising the stakes for the Seattle developer, only recently arrested after eluding authorities for more than a year.

 


The spectacle of an 87-year-old Seattle developer and his wife — owner of a pair of queen-sized diamond rings — being apprehended in the French Alps after leaving behind a flock of American creditors couldn’t help but make international headlines.

 


Sometimes in commercial real estate, a lot of little numbers can add up to a big one.

 


Beacon Capital Partners submitted plans last week for a shorter office tower for a site at Northeast Eighth Street and 110th Avenue Northeast, a city of Bellevue planner said.

 


BELLEVUE, WA-Despite naysayers back in 2010, Cole Real Estate Investments went ahead with its purchase of City Center Plaza here for $310 million from Boston-based Beacon Capital Partners, a property that it said at the time was “a rare opportunity.”

 


With little, if any, new office space coming on line, and demand increasing, there’s a good chance Skanska USA could start building the 400 Fairview office project next spring even without a tenant lined up.

 


TIAA-CREF acquired the Aspira Apartments at 1823 Terry Ave. in Seattle, WA for $165.67 million, or about $$510,000 per unit, from Urban Partners LLC, O'Connor Capital Partners and Real Estate Capital Partners.

 


The Washington chapter of commercial real estate group NAIOP named Wallace Properties Developer of the Year. The awards were handed out Friday in Bellevue.

 


A 300-unit apartment building is being planned for the site of the Phil Smart Mercedes dealership at the corner of East Pike Street and Belmont Avenue in Seattle

 


 


The commercial real estate sector is improving, but investors need to be patient and not expect “quick wins,” according to findings from Emerging Trends in Real Estate 2013, which was jointly released by PwC and the Urban Land Institute (ULI).

 


A retail redevelopment project under way in San Diego is converting a former police headquarters complex into restaurants, shops and entertainment venues.

 


A booming tech sector in San Francisco has made its office-building owners the envy of commercial real-estate industry.

Now developers are starting to move in.

 


The communities surrounding college campuses have long been filled with houses catering to students who have tired of living in dorms.

 


Mall giant General Growth Properties Inc. is selling the Harborplace shopping center, the centerpiece of Baltimore's downtown redevelopment in the 1980s, to retail-property investor Ashkenazy Acquisition Corp.

 


North Dakota, an epicenter of the nation's oil rush, is grappling with a scramble reminiscent of the most-heated periods of the housing boom.

 


A large San Francisco real-estate company is stepping back into the upper Midwest, snapping up one of the tallest skyscrapers in Minneapolis for just over $200 million.

 


CHICAGO—Sandeep Mathrani, the chief executive who has guided General Growth Properties Inc.'s GGP -1.49% resurgence since it emerged from bankruptcy protection, has a message for William Ackman: Back off.

 


Door-buster shoppers will find more than just Wal-Mart Stores Inc. WMT -0.70% awaiting them at midnight this Thanksgiving. Far more U.S. malls are opting this year to open at midnight in a bid to keep pace with discount retailers and online shopping.

 


South Florida's housing market continues to bounce back from a six-year slumber, but recovery on the commercial side has been more sluggish.

 


For all the difficulty and anguish of closing under-utilized public schools, the process is likely to prompt excitement from at least one constituency in the city: real estate developers.

 


WAHIAWA, Hawaii—The trustee for hundreds of heirs to a large land tract here on Oahu island has agreed to sell their inheritance to the state for preservation as farmland, reversing a decadeslong trend of most such open land being developed.

 


On Manhattan's Fifth Avenue, it seems as if the boom never ended.

 


Sandy left an uneven path of destruction in lower Manhattan when it hit three weeks ago: The superstorm hit harder on the eastern side, where some buildings may be closed for months, while the more-modern buildings on the western waterfront bounced back quickly from the flooding

 


A Texas land developer has bought one of the largest tracts of land in Southern California approved for development in a deal that signals that investors are once again betting on housing tracts in exurban markets.

 

 


SHANGHAI—A luxury apartment building that is one of the most visible casualties of China's high-end property bust is up for auction in the northeast city of Dalian, after a bank foreclosed on the property.

 


The allure of Poland, once a star performer among Europe's real-estate markets, is beginning to fade.

 


With debt drama and economic uncertainties plaguing developed nations on both sides of the Atlantic, investors sitting out on the sidelines are having a difficult time choosing which corners of the market to dip their feet in.

 


Brazil is the world’s 6th largest economy. The country is regarded as one of the best performing real estate market. Statistics from Knight Frank’s Global House Price Index, show Brazil as having the second highest annual house price growth.

 


Last year, over 41,000 MW were installed worldwide, of which 1,206 MW were made in Latin America, 80% of which in Brazil and Mexico; followed by Honduras, 8.4% with its farm at Cerro de la Hula; Argentina, 6.5%; Chile and the Dominican Republic, both 2.7%; Costa Rica, 1%; and Colombia, Ecuador, Nicaragua, Peru and Uruguay comprising the rest.

 


Spain bad bank Sareb will open in December in an effort to clean up toxic real estate assets of the nation's troubled banking sector. It will buy up to €60bn of almost €200bn of bank bad debts accumulated since the housing market collapse.

 


Legislation authored by Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) to continue a successful, job-creating immigrant visa program was approved Thursday evening by the U.S. House of Representatives.  The bill, which already has passed the Senate, now goes to the President’s desk for signing. The House vote was 412 to 3.

 

Conferences


March 12-15, 2013

Palais des Festivals - Cannes - France

 


April 15-18, 2013

The Ritz Carlton, Shanghai, China

 


June 25-27, 2013

Marina Bay Sands, Singapore

 


October 7-9, 2013

Munich, Germany

 

MultiFamily
 


SACRAMENTO-GlobeSt.com has learned exclusively that Centerline Capital Group has provided $25.5 million in financing for three California-based multifamily properties, one in Stockton and two in Sacramento.

 


No property manager can execute perfectly but the "right" property manager knows how to keep properties functioning and making money 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

 


LOS ANGELES-GlobeSt.com has learned exclusively that multifamily investors are making an aggressive push westward into Seattle, Phoenix, Los Angeles and San Diego, according to Jones Lang LaSalle’s third-quarter 2012 West Coast Multifamily Outlook

 


The seven-story, 100-unit Muriel's Landing Apartments complex will open next week in Seattle's University District.

 


PORTLAND, OR-Denver-based Cardinal Group Investments LLC purchased the RiverPlace Square apartment community in downtown Portland for $77.5 million.

 


Goodman Real Estate and Capri Capital Partners LLC announced Tuesday that they’re buying the 25-story Tower 801 apartment building in downtown Seattle for $50.1 million

 


(CRE) is pleased to confirm participation of Mack-Cali's Mitchell E. Hersh in The Second Annual New Jersey Apartment Summit & Expo on November 27. 350+ active and innovative multifamily executives from New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and other national regions are expected to attend the Tri-State's leading multifamily summit for discussion, debate and networking.

 


Manhattan-based Carlton Group has arranged the financing of $400 million for the institutional real estate investment fund developing what will become the tallest residential building in the United States - 432 Park Ave. in New York City.

 


BEVERLY HILLS, CA-The multifamily sector is still flourishing as rents continue to rise and renters demand new development. According to Meyers Research, a Kennedy Wilson Co., which just released its latest trend report, national rent for markets covered by RealFacts reached an all-time high of $1,042 per month in the third quarter of this year, an increase of 4.8% from a year ago.

 


A 300-unit apartment building is being planned for the site of the Phil Smart Mercedes dealership at the corner of East Pike Street and Belmont Avenue in Seattle 

 




SAN DIEGO-With wide-open access to equity and debt this year, some analysts say there is too much capital being raised for REIT investment, according to a panel this week on capital markets during NAREIT’s REITWorld trade conference here.

 


SAN DIEGO-Healthcare’s strong track record as a sector in which to invest should continue, according to panelists at a general session on healthcare led by Ross Nussbaum, managing director of UBS, during this week’s REITWorld trade conference here.

 


REITs Raise $60B YTD


WASHINGTON, DC-For the first ten months of the year, REITs have raised a total $59.53 billion in public equity and debt, according to NAREIT figures. That compares with a total of $51.28 billion raised for the entire year of 2011--the industry’s record year for capital raising.


 


Firms Restructure as REITs


Faced with limited investment opportunities as the global economy slows, a growing number of companies are weighing changing their entire corporate structure to become real-estate investment trusts.


 


 


An architectural gem in suburban New Jersey where Nobel Prize-winning scientists once made groundbreaking discoveries is under contract for just under $36 million.

 


Earlier this year, it looked as if the owner of Las Vegas's Fashion Outlets mall was facing a problem: Its $107 million in debt was nearing maturity, and the credit markets weren't strong enough to refinance that entire amount.

 


Spain bad bank Sareb will open in December in an effort to clean up toxic real estate assets of the nation's troubled banking sector. It will buy up to €60bn of almost €200bn of bank bad debts accumulated since the housing market collapse.

 

 


LOS ANGELES-The number of Chinese investors putting their money into US real estate has seen a dramatic uptick over the last few years, largely on the residential side, but also on the commercial side.

 


The financial storm in Europe is presenting opportunities for investors in U.S. properties as hard-pressed real-estate companies and lenders sell assets.

 


CHICAGO-Gazing into its collective crystal ball, members of the research team at Jones Lang LaSalle's 2013 outlook media briefing, which took place Nov. 13, offered a good-news, bad-news scenario

 


Limiting personal income-tax deductions and other federal tax breaks, an idea gaining momentum as part of a fix for America's budget crisis, would hit some parts of the country harder than others, with a series of high-income blue states leading the way.

Scott Miller's October 2012 Newsletter

Local

 

Attachmate, Globys sign large leases at 705 Union Station

Software company Attachmate will lease 75,000 square feet of office space in Seattle at 705 Union Station, commercial real estate brokerage CBRE announced today.

 

Commercial real estate escaped recession collapse

Everyone has talked extensively about the recession and the impact on residential and commercial real estate. The residential market’s problems are well documented and the resulting impact on the economy was devastating.

 

Where does Seattle's real estate market rank in the U.S.?

Seattle is the seventh-best overall real estate market in the country, according to the 2013 Emerging Trends in Real Estate report.


Real estate is recovering. Yes, you read that correctly.
After the worst collapse since the Great Depression, the sector is on an upswing. It is slow, cautious and fragile, to be sure. But it’s real.

A MetLife partnership “has the inside track” to buy the 1201 Third Avenue tower in downtown Seattle for about $550 million, according to trade publication Real Estate Alert.

Seattle is the seventh-best overall real estate market in the country, according to the 2013 Emerging Trends in Real Estate report.

The Fana Group, a private real estate investment firm, recently purchased the Key Bank Building at 10655 NE 4th St. in Bellevue, WA from Legacy Partners Commercial, Inc. for $36.08 million, or about $374 per square foot.

RENTON, WA-Fairfield Residential Apartments LLC has received a senior financing loan of $103 million for two multifamily properties totaling 880 units in the Renton submarket of Seattle—the Reserve and the Sanctuary—from Prudential Life Insurance Co.


Companies added office space at a slow pace in the third quarter, leaving vacancies in U.S. office markets at high levels amid sluggish growth in the labor force.

If the property bull market had lasted awhile longer, big bets by a firm headed by C. Frederick Wehba might have made him one of the most successful property investors of the era, capping a remarkable rise from his early days in the grocery-store business.

Commercial-real-estate lenders and borrowers are scrambling to capitalize on one of the strongest rallies in the debt markets since the financial crisis.

New York office landlord SL Green Realty Corp. SLG +0.80% has become an accidental owner on the West Coast.

Strip-mall owners are dusting off projects that were shelved during the economic downturn, thanks partly to the expansion of discount chains like Wal-Mart, Target and Family Dollar.

The chief investment officer at Deutsche Bank AG's giant real-estate arm is stepping down at the end of the year, a bank spokeswoman said.

ORANGE COUNTY, CA-GlobeSt.com has learned exclusively that Hendricks & Partners has negotiated the sale of two portfolios of multifamily properties—one in Los Angeles and Orange counties and one in Washington State.

Vacancies declined at U.S. malls and held steady at strip shopping centers in the third quarter as landlords attracted new retailers to fill space as stalwarts such as Best Buy Co., Staples Inc., Gap Inc. and Office Depot Inc. closed stores or shifted to smaller ones.

Second quarter GDP growth was revised downward to a paltry 1.3% growth rate, and as a consequence of weak economic growth, labor market performance remains anemic.

Dell Inc., DELL +1.55% seeking to trim costs, has been scaling back its manufacturing operations in the Austin, Texas, area in recent years, vacating more than one million square feet of office and industrial space.

CONWAY, AR-Miami-based United Trust Fund has broadened its Arkansas footprint through its acquisition of the 123,032-square-foot Southwestern Energy Co. regional headquarters building. The buyer paid $30 million to close the sale-leaseback transaction, with Southwestern Energy agreeing to a 15-year lease.

BALTIMORE-The first year Saul Ewing held its Mid-Atlantic Real Estate Conference the mood, understandably, was grim. The year: 2009. The month: September. This year’s event, held last week, cleared that very low bar and then some, reports Howard Majev, the co-chair of the firm’s real estate practice and the planner of the conference.



The International Real Estate Federation. If you are looking for great content on Europe, Asia-Pacific, Africa or the Americas check out this exciting association with thousands of members to connect with doing deals outside the states or providing investors bringing money into the states.  If you want to improve your exposure or just want more knowledge on international real estate check FIABCI out.

Hungry for yield and a safe haven amid Europe's woes, foreign investors are returning to an asset they once shunned: Tokyo property.

In London, two major developers are making progress on big new housing projects, as some key players switch their focus to residential property.

SINGAPORE—For years, this affluent trade entrepôt was known as one of the sleepier cities in Asia—a nice place to live and work, but nothing compared with the flashy financial capitals of Hong Kong, London and New York.

JOHOR BAHRU, Malaysia—For decades since gaining independence in 1965, Singapore has had a tense relationship with the nearby Malaysian state of Johor, competing with its neighbor for crucial resources like water and foreign investment.

SINGAPORE—Home prices in this city-state have kept surging almost without interruption since the global financial crisis, even as residential real estate in many big global markets—including major U.S. cities—has continued to drag.

Like most Asian cities, Singapore is known for paving over its past in favor of tall skyscrapers and mega-highways

SHANGHAI—Home prices in major Chinese cities rose modestly in September from August, according to a private poll, indicating that Beijing has made some progress in keeping housing costs under control despite recent signs of market strength.

European banks are expected to increase the volume of commercial real-estate assets they bring to market as they prepare for new European Union capital requirements.

MultiFamily

768-Unit Multifamily On The Market

ANAHEIM, CA-Palo Alto-based Pacific Urban Residential is offering Madison Park, a 768-unit apartment community located at 2235 W. Broadway here, for sale. The 18-acre community is for sale on an open-bid basis, but market players say that the asset could fetch a price in the $140-million range….

 

Strong Local Economy Fuels the Washington, D.C. Apartment Market

The Washington, D.C. economy is moving through the second half of the year in fairly good shape. Even though signs of the past recession are still present, the district has gotten some support from a few unlikely sources.

 

Capri Seeks Buyers for 2,224-Unit Portfolio

CHICAGO-Capri Capital Partners LLC, an investors based in Chicago, is seeking buyers for eight out-of-state multifamily properties. The portfolio, which comprises 2,224 units, is valued at roughly $275 million

 

Rental Growth Loses Speed

The apartment-rental market remained robust in the third quarter but, with home sales improving, the sector is showing signs of losing steam, according to a new report from Reis Inc.

 

Apartments Lead Columbus CRE Market

The 126,022-unit metro Columbus apartment market ended the second quarter with a 6.1% vacancy rate, down 30 basis points from the prior quarter and down 190 from the second quarter of 2011.

 

San Francisco Apartment Sector Amongst the Strongest

The San Francisco economy maintained its robust momentum throughout the second quarter, as the real estate market continues to reap the benefits of the information technology and new media boom….

 

Dogs Get Their Due

ROCKVILLE CENTRE, N.Y.—Roxanne George lives in an apartment community boasting everything from a sparkling swimming pool to a state-of-the-art exercise facility.

 

FCP Sells Columbia Heights Apartment Building

WASHINGTON, DC-Federal Capital Partners has sold a 297-unit apartment building it acquired out of foreclosure in 2009 in DC’s Columbia Heights neighborhood. Allegro Apartments, a luxury building, was sold to an institutional buyer for an undisclosed price.

 

RENTON, WA-Fairfield Residential Apartments LLC has received a senior financing loan of $103 million for two multifamily properties totaling 880 units in the Renton submarket of Seattle—the Reserve and the Sanctuary—from Prudential Life Insurance Co.

 

Transwestern Brings 1,876 Value-add Units to Market

BETHESDA, MD-Transwestern’s Mid-Atlantic Multifamily Group is bringing to market 1,876 value-add units in the Prince George’s county submarket.

 

Risk in the Multifamily Market

Economic and demographic trends boosted demand for multifamily properties over the last couple of years, but recent trends suggest a slowdown in the rapid improvement in fundamentals. Vacancies fell by 30 basis points in the first quarter, 20 basis points in the second quarter, and recently fell by only 10 basis points in the third quarter.



The budding housing recovery is producing big winners and losers among real-estate stocks, with companies related to home construction surging while apartment companies sink.

Whitestone REIT (NYSE:WSR) has closed on a pair of retail centers in Arizona totaling more than $65.9 million. Whitestone is a fully-integrated real estate company focused on the ownership, operation and redevelopment of highly-visible neighborhood retail centers.

After 13 years with the Inland Real Estate Group of Cos. Brian M. Conlon will leave his position as CEO of Inland Real Estate Investment Corp., as he retires from the commercial real estate industry.

Companies in technology and related fields are testing a way to avoid paying taxes: persuading the government that their real business is real estate.

 


Construction is resuming on a half-built skyscraper that has marred Chicago's skyline since 2008, thanks to a recovering economy and a creative path taken by its original developer, contractors and a new investor…

Freddie Mac is engaged in a tug of war with both its regulator and Wall Street over a plan to provide loans to investors that are buying homes in foreclosure to rent them out.

It isn't difficult to see why some investors ran the other way when Riverside Plaza, a well-known shopping center in California's hard-hit Inland Empire region, was put on the block earlier this year.

The expected sale of a hulking, brick office tower in Midtown Manhattan is on track to net its seller the largest dollar profit to date on any single property that was purchased during the financial downturn.

The Belleview Biltmore hotel in Belleair, Fla., built and opened by a railroad tycoon in 1897, hosted industrial magnates and golf legends in the early 1900s, U.S. Air Force trainees during World War II and Margaret Thatcher in 1996.

European banks are expected to increase the volume of commercial real-estate assets they bring to market as they prepare for new European Union capital requirements.

When it comes to the business of buying foreclosed homes, renovating them and renting them out, large private-equity firms have lots of advantages over smaller, mom-and-pop investors.



LOS ANGELES-The increasing number of would-be commercial real estate investors is making available properties harder to find. Even in today’s market, smaller investors may need help finding properties in which to invest….

SAN DIEGO-Rather than worrying about the size of the retail parcel or the land around it, commercial real estate executives must pay attention to the merchants they have in place and learn those merchants’ business in order to be successful, say panelists at the recent ICSC Western Division Conference here….

Home prices notched their strongest year-to-date gains since 2005, climbing 5.9% through July and signaling the housing market's steady trudge toward recovery.

Second quarter GDP growth was revised downward to a paltry 1.3% growth rate, and as a consequence of weak economic growth, labor market performance remains anemic.

The condo my husband and I own in Maine (where we lived before moving to Seattle) is underwater — we owe more than it’s worth. WE are trying to get the bank to agree to a short sale (selling it for less than we owe, writing off the difference), but so far we’ve been rejected.

The housing market showed broad improvement as the economy continued to expand modestly in late August and September, the Federal Reserve said Wednesday.

Technology, training, and trends in real estate property categories topped the agenda during the opening session of the Institute of Real Estate Management’s opening general session in New Orleans on Thursday.


RE Webcasts and Blogs

SAN DIEGO-Value retail real estate is still the product that's most in demand in this retail real estate sector. Sandy Sigal, president, CEO and chairman of NewMark Merrill Cos. talks to GlobeSt.com's Ian Ritter about the market.

At last, a §1031 Exchange course that will give you a strong foundation of knowledge regarding IRC §1031 Tax Deferred Exchanges. This course will give you all of the basic rules and regulations of IRC §1031 and show you how to use that knowledge.

This course will update you on the most recent changes as well as cover advanced issues relating to IRC §1031. If you deal with investor clients that engage in §1031 exchanges, this course is for you. Solutions for the most challenging transactions will be covered in this webinar.

Although George W. Bush has been out of office for four years, the implications of his tax cuts are still in
place….but perhaps not for long. In 2001, Congress passed The Economic Growth and Tax Relief
Reconciliation Act of 2001 (a.k.a. “The Bush Tax Cuts”) which effectively lowered the Federal capital gains tax to 15% on long term investment