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Real-estate calendar
Pacific Northwest FIABCI (International Real Estate Calendar)
Monday : May 7, 2012 11 am – 2 pm
SEATTLE KingCounty REALTORS®
12410 SE 32nd Street Suite#100
Bellevue, Washington 98005
CREDAA/FIABCI/AREAA presentation of buying real estate in your IRA. Social Mixer to follow
Sponsorship by EastWest Bank
When: March 20, 2012, 4 – 7 PM
Where: EastWest Bank
2331 130th Ave NE
Bellevue, WA 98005
RSVP: scott.r.miller@fnf.com
Local
Garden City Group Continues West Coast Growth
SEATTLE-American Life Inc., one of Seattle’s most active real estate development and management companies, recently inked a 45,000-square-foot lease with Garden City Group Inc. at the 283,000-square-foot Stadium Innovation Center in the Stadium District of Seattle’s SODO neighborhood.
Harbor Properties closing in on merger deal
Harbor Properties Harbor Properties Latest from The Business Journals Harbor sells two apartment projects for .9MHarbor breaks ground in West SeattleHarbor Properties sells Stevens Pass ski resort to focus on Seattle Follow this company , a venerable real estate firm founded by the prominent Bullitt family, is merging with a like-minded Los Angeles firm.
Schnitzer West says Bravern sale is close
The sale of Schnitzer West Schnitzer West Latest from The Business Journals The Bravern retailers trending up, with sale impendingBuyers circling luxury retail centerShops at the Bravern put up for sale Follow this company ’s The Shops at the Bravern, which opened in Bellevue in the fall of 2009, is close to being a done deal.
Sears selling stores, including Bellingham location
Sears Holding Corp. Sears Holding Corp. Latest from The Business Journals Sears Ala Moana lease to cost General Growth 0MSears’ Ala Moana exit means higher rent for General GrowthSears separating businesses to raise up to 0M Follow this company said on Thursday that it will sell 11 stores to Chicago-based General Growth Properties Inc. General Growth Properties Inc. Latest from The Business Journals Sears Ala Moana lease to cost General Growth 0MGreat Indoors at Polaris to close as Sears shuts down chainLone Tree Great Indoors to close as Sears shuts down chain Follow this company for $270 million, including one in Bellingham that could close sometime next year.
Archstone Partnerships Buy Two Communities Totaling $110M
KIRKLAND, WA-In just two days, it was revealed that two Archstone sponsored partnerships made big apartment community acquisitions out west. One partnership acquired Carillon Heights, a 131-unit apartment community here for $47.5 million, while another purchased Parkside Apartment Homes, a 192-unit community in the heart of Silicon Valley, CA for $63.2 million.
HOSPITALITY: Columbia Hospitality revenue grows
With the hospitality industry showing signs of recovery, Columbia Hospitality Columbia Hospitality Latest from The Business Journals Columbia Hospitality nabs top convention center execHyatt converting two Washington-area hotels to Hyatt House brandDeanna Oppenheimer steps down from Barclays Follow this company is in the midst of an aggressive growth spurt that has doubled the Seattle company’s size and broadened its services.
Seattle 'Ban Roll-On' building sells for $186M
The Second and Seneca office building at 1191 Second Ave. sold Friday for $185.97 million to an entity identified as Second and Seneca Seattle LP.
Second & Seneca Building Sells for $186M
SEATTLE-New York-based Tishman Speyer has sold Second & Seneca Building, a 22-story office building in downtown Seattle, for $186 million to an affiliate of San Francisco-based Rockwood Capital. The Second & Seneca office building, also known R2D2 Building or the Ban Roll-On building, was sold at discount.
DEALS: Talon grasps Regence BlueShield building
Kirkland-based Talon Private Capital made its third and biggest purchase to date in December, forming a joint venture with Prudential Realty Group to buy 1800 Ninth Building in downtown Seattle for $76.5 million.
Case-Shiller: Seattle home prices dropped 5.6% in 2011
Seattle-area home prices dropped 5.6 percent last year, which was one of the steepest declines among the nation’s 20 largest metro areas.
Vulcan Starts 278-Unit Apartment Project
SEATTLE-Vulcan Real Estate has started construction on a multifamily property in South Lake Union. The 278-unit apartment complex, known as Stack House, will be constructed around the Supply Laundry building at Republican Street and Yale Avenue North.
Apartment property market reawakens with sales jump
Sales of larger apartment buildings in King County are on the upswing, setting a record average price per square foot in 2011, according to data supplied by Dupre + Scott Apartment Advisors Inc.
Feds expected to shed commercial leases to save money
A federal cost-cutting mandate to reduce the amount of space federal agencies occupy could have an impact on the office market in the Puget Sound area.
Terreno Realty Corp. will ‘increase the pace’ in six target markets, including Seattle area
San Francisco-based Terreno Realty Corp. is shopping for industrial properties in the Puget Sound area with ambitious plans to build a substantial portfolio.
Guincher finds new faith in Seattle market
After three years of work in western Canada, developer Claudio Guincher has returned to the Seattle area with new optimism, believing the residential real estate market has turned upward.
National
Extended Stay Picks CEO
Extended Stay Hotels, the large hotel chain that emerged from bankruptcy proceedings in 2010 with new owners, has hired Starbucks Corp. veteran Jim Donald as its chief executive.
Showdown Over Miami's Swank Set
MIAMI—For decades, Bal Harbour Shops has reigned largely unchallenged in this area's luxury retail market. With reported annual sales of $2,327 a square foot last year—more than five times the national average—the mall is one of the most profitable in the country.
A Washington Connection
After years of battles, Washington may finally realize a decades-old desire to rejoin two downtown neighborhoods with a $1.3 billion project on a platform over a stretch of Interstate 395.
Upswing for Hotels
Hotel revenue per room, an important measure of financial performance in the hotel industry, reached the highest level in nearly three years during January, according to Smith Travel Research.
Blackstone Raises $10 Billion for Real-Estate Fund
Blackstone Group LP has raised more than $10 billion in less than a year for its latest real-estate fund and is looking to raise an additional $2 billion by year's end, according to people familiar with the matter.
Challenging a Sovereign—in Miami
Florida real-estate developer Tibor Hollo faces an uncommon landlord's dilemma: He can't kick out a deadbeat office tenant because the space is technically part of a foreign country.
Creditors seek to block Grubb & Ellis bankruptcy sale
A group of unsecured creditors is seeking to block or at least delay commercial real estate brokerage Grubb & Ellis Co.’s Grubb & Ellis Co. Latest from The Business Journals Follow this company proposed bankruptcy sale to New York’s BGC Partners Inc. BGC Partners Inc. Latest from The Business Journals Follow this company for $30 million, claiming prospective bidders won’t have enough time to submit competing bids to drive up the company’s sale price.
Seagram Building Owners in Legal Spat
When New York developer Aby Rosen borrowed $160 million last year to buy out billionaire Peter Brant's stake in the Seagram building, he strengthened his hold over the world-famous Manhattan skyscraper.
A Class Move for an Office
While the debate rages over the benefits of charter schools over public schools, many would agree on one thing: When it comes to real estate, the growing charter-school movement has been very creative.
International
Texas Firm to Double Down in London
Hines, one of the world's largest real-estate groups in terms of assets, is preparing to spend £1 billion ($1.6 billion) on buildings in the U.K., doubling its assets in the country in an effort to diversify away from riskier acquisitions.
Caribbean Getaways Ensnare Buyers
Vacation homes typically conjure up dreams of blue skies, pristine sand and crystalline waters. But for Richard Cichanowicz, buying property in paradise has become a nightmare.
Builders Feel Bite in China
WUXI, China — Along this city's historic canal, in a location picked for its good feng shui, a 59-acre complex of commercial and residential towers not long ago looked like a sure winner.
Toronto Wants to Lure People to Water
More than 50 years ago, Toronto built what seemed like a good idea at the time: an elevated expressway along the shore of Lake Ontario to reduce downtown traffic jams. Then, in the 1970s, a wall of condo towers further sealed off a chunk of the city from its waterfront.
London Calls for Boston Properties
Boston Properties Inc., one of the nation's largest office landlords, is in negotiations to buy Drapers Gardens, a trophy office building in London's financial district for £285 million ($452.2 million), according to people familiar with the matter.
Toronto Builds Plush Cushion for Landing
TORONTO—Being arguably the world's hottest real-estate market is a title that comes with a heavy crown.
Cashing In on Sky-High Office Space
TORONTO—Looking to cash in on one of the strongest office markets in North America, Bank of Nova Scotia has put its iconic Scotia Plaza on the block in a deal that many expect will set a record price for Canada.
China luxury showplaces lure Washington architects
Washington’s three largest architectural firms are riding high on the high end of China’s commercial and retail market, despite a slowdown in Chinese condominiums.
Minoru Mori, Japanese Real Estate Magnate, Dies
TOKYO—Minoru Mori, whose entrepreneurial risk-taking helped transform the central Tokyo skyline and which set him apart within Japan's staid real-estate world, has died at age 77, his company said Monday.
MultiFamily
Archstone Partnerships Buy Two Communities Totaling $110M
KIRKLAND, WA-In just two days, it was revealed that two Archstone sponsored partnerships made big apartment community acquisitions out west. One partnership acquired Carillon Heights, a 131-unit apartment community here for $47.5 million, while another purchased Parkside Apartment Homes, a 192-unit community in the heart of Silicon Valley, CA for $63.2 million.
Apartment property market reawakens with sales jump
Sales of larger apartment buildings in King County are on the upswing, setting a record average price per square foot in 2011, according to data supplied by Dupre + Scott Apartment Advisors Inc.
Apartments Lose Luster With Investors
Apartment buildings, one of the best-performing sectors of the commercial real-estate market in recent years, are starting to lose some of their appeal for investors.
Plots & Ploys: Art of the Condo
Desperate times call for a bit of artistic license.
Construction loans still are an endangered species in most of the country, especially in overbuilt south Florida. But Martin Margulies, a luxury condo developer, has secured an $80 million loan from U.S. Trust to build a 70-unit, 24-story tower, called the Bellini, in the exclusive Williams Island area of Aventura, a northern suburb of Miami.
Toronto Builds Plush Cushion for Landing
TORONTO—Being arguably the world's hottest real-estate market is a title that comes with a heavy crown.
New Rent Report Suggests Possible Bubble
Typically when rents go up, more renters turn to home buying.
When home prices go up, more turn to renting, but today’s housing market is anything but typical.
REIT BEAT
Sabra Shakes Off Ailments
Shares of Sabra Health Care REIT, one of the nation's largest publicly traded nursing-home landlords, were headed to intensive care last fall after being roughed up by investor concern over a steep cut in Medicare reimbursements.
The REIT Stuff
There is an upside for the lagging stock prices for real-estate investment trusts that invest in residential mortgages: high dividends.
Distressed
Showdown in Stamford for Developer Rosen
Developer Aby Rosen, who has been fighting headwinds to shore up his highly leveraged U.S. office buildings, faces a new threat, this one to his firm's large portfolio in Stamford, Conn.
Mortgage-Bond Deal Draws a Fine
Massachusetts's securities regulator is conducting a wide-ranging investigation into the Wall Street mortgage-bond system that helped fuel the financial crisis.
Pacific Shores Positioning
Blackstone Group LP has wrestled a large chunk of a San Francisco-area office park away from Starwood Capital Group in the latest smack down in the world of distressed commercial real estate.
Cliffs Club Falls Into Rough
The golf course and housing empire developed by Jim Anthony in the Carolinas is unraveling.
Vornado Grapples With the Capital
Vornado Realty Trust, one of the largest office-building owners in the Washington region, is getting clobbered by the downsizing of the federal government.
RE Trends
Home Resales Climb Higher
WASHINGTON—Sales of previously owned homes in the U.S. rose last month to the highest level in nearly two years, and the inventory of unsold homes contracted to a level considered healthy by economists, positive signs for the housing market.
Should Mortgage Rates Even Be Lower?
Mortgage rates are the lowest on record. But by a key historical measure, they should be even lower.
Toll Brothers Moves Back to Living Large
The McMansion's demise has been greatly exaggerated. Luxury-home builder Toll Brothers has rebounded impressively since the start of October, along with its industry. The stock has risen by two-thirds and now trades at 71 times forward earnings estimates.
Envisioning a Future Without Fannie, Freddie
WASHINGTON—The U.S. is studying a single way to package home loans into securities as an interim step toward a system that could outlive Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, mortgage-finance firms that have faced an uncertain future in the wake of the housing market's bust.
Upswing for Hotels
Hotel revenue per room, an important measure of financial performance in the hotel industry, reached the highest level in nearly three years during January, according to Smith Travel Research.
Home Prices Hit New Depths
Home prices fell to fresh lows in December, but economists say that a drop in the number of homes listed for sale could help stabilize prices in parts of the country this year.
At Last! Banks Rev Up Lending
U.S. banks posted their biggest quarterly increase in lending in four years, offering reason for optimism that the economic rebound is picking up steam.
Corporate Cram Bedevils Office Recovery
As the office-space market slogs along in a slow recovery, landlords face another hurdle: shrinking tenants
Foreclosure sales on the rise
Foreclosure sales are on the rise, even in states where banks need court approval to foreclose on a home.
BofA to slash mortgage balances by $100,000 or more
NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- Bank of America will significantly slash mortgage balances for as many as 200,000 borrowers.
New Rent Report Suggests Possible Bubble
Typically when rents go up, more renters turn to home buying.
When home prices go up, more turn to renting, but today’s housing market is anything but typical.
Rise in Phoenix Housing Shows Path for Other Cities
PHOENIX—As home prices continue to drop in most cities, a nascent real-estate rebound here holds lessons for the rest of the country.
Sunday Night Futures
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