Drugstore Investments Low Risk Assets with a Steady Income Stream

By Elaine Misonzhnik, Retail Traffic Associate Editor
Net lease investors can’t seem to get enough of the drugstore sector with sales today being driven by a desire among both lenders and buyers for low risk assets with a steady income stream.

According to a report on the second-half outlook for net lease properties from Marcus & Millichap Real Estate Investment Services, drugstore sales were up 10 percent, supporting a 3 percent rise in the median price for the sector to $334 per square foot. Yields have fallen to the high-6 percent to mid-7 percent range.


http://retailtrafficmag.com

Zell to Limit U.S. Real Estate Investing as He Expands in Colombia, India

Billionaire Sam Zell said he is entering the real estate markets in Colombia and India in the next two weeks as he continues to favor international investments over U.S. property deals.

Zell, chairman of Chicago-based Equity International, will invest in real estate in Colombia and will eventually move on to residential projects, he said in an interview today on Bloomberg Television. In India, he plans to open hotels.

“Colombia is the next star of Latin America,” Zell said on “In the Loop” with Betty Liu. “In India, we’re doing a hotel/motel program like Residence Inn at Marriott and we hope to build a chain across the country.”

http://www.bloomberg.com/news

Global Demand for Distressed Commercial Property Soars

Global demand for distressed commercial property increased dramatically in the second quarter of 2011 and is expected to outstrip supply in the next three months, according to the latest report from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors.

Over 80% of the countries surveyed in the RICS Global Distressed Property Monitor reported heightened levels of interest from specialist funds in the second quarter with three quarters of these reporting even greater levels of demand than last quarter.

Indeed, in over half of the countries covered, the net balance figure for second quarter demand for distressed property outstrips the comparative number for the third quarter expected supply, most noticeably in Japan, China, Singapore and Hong Kong.

Investor demand rose most dramatically in Japan and Hungary this quarter, where net balance scores moved from +6 to +68 and +3 to +64 quarter over quarter, respectively. In Italy, Poland and Russia agents reported noticeable shifts in sentiment with demand swinging from negative into positive territory.

http://www.propertywire.com/news/europe/global

Blackstone sues Sol Goldman estate over default notice at 1140 Sixth Avenue

Blackstone Group, which acquired the ground lease at 1140 Sixth Avenue in May, has filed a lawsuit against the landlord to block a default notice it received for five alleged violations issued by the New York Fire Department. Blackstone, in an Aug. 26 complaint filed in New York State Supreme Court, alleges that the estate of billionaire Sol Goldman, which owns the building, between 44th and 45th streets, sent it a default notice June 30, claiming it had 12 outstanding FDNY violations, nine Department of Buildings violations and two Environmental Control Board violations.

http://therealdeal.com/newyork

Wall Street Banks Plan $5 Billion in CMBS Sales

Wall Street banks are planning to sell as much as $5 billion of bonds tied to commercial mortgages as they offload loans agreed to before credit markets stumbled and amid growing concern that the economy is faltering.

The securities will be offered in September and October, bringing 2011 sales to about $25 billion, according to Julia Tcherkassova, a commercial-mortgage debt analyst at Barclays Capital in New York....

http://www.businessweek.com/news

Dollar General Store have Applied for a state License to Sell Beer

Arkansas' Alcoholic Control Board (ABC) is expected to vote today on whether Dollar General stores throughout the state can sell beer. Eighty-two locations have applied for permits, ABC officials said.

Being granted a beer license is not simple. If an objection for a permit has been filed for a particular location, the permit is often denied and an appeal hearing is set for a later date, The Baxter Bulletin reported. However, Walgreens and Walmart received similar approvals in 2010 and 2009, respectively.

Buyers Wary of Building Bubble

From WSJ.com
Some of the nation's largest pension funds are starting to back away from trophy properties in the most expensive real-estate markets over concerns a new bubble is inflating.

After property prices crashed during the financial crisis, pension funds—among the biggest investors in commercial real estate—turned their investment strategies away from risky speculative projects and toward properties considered "core," well-leased buildings that are seen as low risk due to their stable income, in cities such as New York, Washington and San Francisco.