Wednesday, August 10, 2011

Market Turmoil Stings Commercial Sector

Tremors in the market for commercial-mortgage-backed securities are hindering the recovery of the commercial-property sector.
Over the past 18 months, values nationally have been rising, thanks in part to Wall Street's success in rekindling the business of pooling together commercial mortgages and selling them to investors as bonds. This has provided a critical source of deal financing for property buyers.
But the new-issue market for these securities has hit a speed bump amid turmoil in the capital markets, causing a key set of lenders to back off from making new loans. The result is that deal activity has fallen, putting the brakes on the rise in values.

"Lending has clearly slowed significantly," said Richard Parkus, an analyst at Morgan Stanley.

Real-estate companies have clearly noticed. Late last month, for example, Hotel chain Strategic Hotels & Resorts Inc. obtained a $145 million loan for its InterContinental Hotel in Chicago from J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. But the closing of the mortgage, which J.P. Morgan plans to securitize, was delayed for days because of uncertainty in the markets, said Laurence Geller, Strategic Hotels' chief executive. A representative for J.P. Morgan declined to comment


http://online.wsj.com/article

Monday, August 8, 2011

Chicago-based investment firm closes on mixed-use building at 862 Broadway

Chicago-based real estate investment firm L3 Capital has closed on the purchase of a mixed-use buidling at 862 Broadway in the Flatiron District, from shoe store David Z., for $11 million, according to a deed filed with the city this past Friday.

As The Real Deal previously reported, the four-story building was originally put on the market by David Z. for $12 million in 2010. Built in 1900 and completely renovated in 2004, the 5,100-square-foot walk-up building has 11,682 square feet of additional air rights, plus a basement. A store on the first floor is occupied by the GEOX footwear company. Retail space on the second floor is occupied by the Boston-based Prana yoga, and there are residential loft apartments on the third and fourth floors.


http://therealdeal.com

Tall Order in the Big Easy

A 25-year-old real-estate investment trust, which has sparked some criticism for its strong appetite for acquisitions, has agreed to buy New Orleans's tallest skyscraper for $107 million, according to people familiar with the property.

CommonWealth REIT, of Newton, Mass., is buying the 51-story office building named One Shell Square from MetLife Inc., the people said. CommonWealth and MetLife declined to comment on the deal.

The deal reflects the pressure many buyers are facing to push into new territories for buildings as competition has made major market bargains scarcer. "Things have been getting a little more challenging," John Popeo, CommonWealth's chief ...

http://online.wsj.com/article

Friday, August 5, 2011

Brookfield Office Beats Estimates After Commercial-Property Revenue Climbs

New York Commercial Property Revenue Climbs Up 30%

The company is seeing “steady demand and controlled supply within our primary markets,” Chief Executive Officer Ric Clark said in the statement. “We remain optimistic about our performance over the balance of the year and the next few years to come.”

Brookfield Office Properties Inc., owner of Manhattan’s World Financial Center, reported funds from operations that beat analyst estimates after increasing revenue and adding income from Australian properties acquired last year.
Revenue Up 30%
FFO, a gauge of a property company’s ability to generate cash, was $152 million, or 30 cents a share, in the second quarter, the New York-based landlord said today in a statement. Analysts expected 26 cents a share, the average of 14 estimates in a Bloomberg survey. FFO was $201 million, or 40 cents, a year earlier, when results included a $53 million gain from the repayment of a loaThe companywide occupancy rate was 93.3 percent, down from 95 percent at the end of last year and 94.8 percent a year earlier, according to the supplemental report.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news

Wednesday, July 20, 2011

U.S. Commercial Property Prices Increased

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U.S. commercial property prices increased in May for the first time in six months as a rebound in distressed real estate helped boost values, according to Moody’s Investors Service.

The Moody’s/REAL Commercial Property Price Index rose 6.3 percent from April, the largest gain since the measure began in 2000. It’s down 11 percent from a year earlier and 46 percent below the peak of October 2007, the company said today.

“A number of transactions that were recorded in May had their most recent prior sales in 2009 as the market was beginning to bottom and subsequently traded for substantial returns,” Tad Philipp, director of commercial real estate research at Moody’s, said in a separate statement. “We are likely to see a pickup in post-peak repeat sales and expect such transactions to play an important role in helping drive the CPPI higher.”

http://www.bloomberg.com/news

Tech Meets the Tenderloin


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The growth in technology businesses that has boosted the San Francisco office market has spilled over into a blighted six-block stretch of Market Street that until now has missed out on most booms in the city's commercial-property valuations.

The "midmarket" office corridor on the southern edge of the Tenderloin district got its first boost in April when Twitter Inc. announced plans to relocate its headquarters to the gritty area better known for empty storefronts and government workers than Internet buzz.


http://online.wsj.com/article

Tuesday, July 19, 2011

U.S. Retailers Shop for Space in Europe

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U.S. retailers expanding abroad include some of the biggest names in the business. Banana Republic, for example, is expected to open its first French store this year. In 2010, Apple opened its largest flagship store in the world in London's Covent Garden. Fashion retailers Tommy Hilfiger and Michael Kors have built flagship stores in Paris.

The outlook is better in some countries than others. According to CBRE, the development pipeline is still "considerably smaller" than in 2007 and 2008 —the most recent peak in shopping-center development. But construction starts are rising in markets such as Turkey, Russia, and Poland. There are 146 shopping centers under construction in Europe today, says CBRE, and the highest level of activity is in Europe's emerging markets.

"The shopping center development market in Turkey has sprung back to life," Neville Moss, CBRE's head of retail research in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, said in a statement.

Another thing in Europe's favor is that American retailers are finding it easier to experiment and try new strategies in new markets than to revamp worn models at home.