Posted by admin on May 29, 2009 under Uncategorized | 
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This was an interesting little quiz I ran across online today – I got 7 of 8 right – I missed question 6, which is pretty subjective to how interested your banker is doing the deal…
How did you do? Comment Here
Posted by admin on May 27, 2009 under Good Info - Read It | Be the First to Comment
RISMEDIA,May 27, 2009-The general economic downturn, complicated by a severe credit crunch in commercial real estate, is dampening commercial real estate activity. In addition, a forward-looking index shows the forecast for commercial real estate sectors will remain weak for the remainder of the year, according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR). Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, said commercial real estate has been hit by a double whammy. “Significant job losses have reduced the demand for commercial space, while a lack of credit has stalled transactions and refinancing activity,” he said. “It is critical for the Federal Reserve to increase liquidity by purchasing commercial mortgage-backed securities. Because commercial real estate always lags an overall economic recovery, it will take some time for the commercial real estate market to rebound.”
The Commercial Leading Indicator for Brokerage Activity fell 4.8% to an index of 103.5 in the first quarter from a Read more of this article »
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I stumbled across this story online in the most random of places -
It seems encouraging to me that US residents seem to think that real estate values are in trouble, but internationally people are being encouraged to to invest in our Commercial Real Estate?
JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia – May 26, 2009 – The benefits of investing in the U.S. real estate sector were in focus at a seminar held in Jeddah on Tuesday night. “The U.S. real estate sector has become an attractive buy for investors in Saudi Arabia and Gulf, in the context of the recent developments brought about by global economic downturn and weak U.S. currency,” Robert Koch, founder and chairman of the Florida-based Fugleberg Koch Inc., told a meeting attended by a large number of investors at Laylaty hall.
“In this phase, investing in the U.S. real estate offers a lot of opportunities, notwithstanding affordable prices, due to its incredibly sound investment policies,” he said and emphasized on strong returns and reduced risks in U.S. real estate investments even after correcting for the higher taxes, transaction costs and management fees.
Based on recent data, land, income property, and repositioned assets are the three preferred acquisitions in strategic markets in the U.S. now, according to Koch.
Copyright © 2009 Arab News, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, K.S. Ramkumar.
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WASHINGTON — More than 90% of economists predict the recession will end this year, although the recovery is likely to be bumpy.That assessment came from leading forecasters in a survey by the National Association for Business Economics released Wednesday. It is generally in line with the outlook from Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and his colleagues.
About 74% of the forecasters expect the recession — which started in December 2007 and is the longest since World War II — to end in the third quarter. Another 19% predict the turning point will come in the final three months of this year, and the remaining 7% believe the recession will end in the first quarter of 2010. Read more of this article »
Posted by admin on May 19, 2009 under Good Info - Read It | Be the First to Comment
WASHINGTON – May 19, 2009 – Commercial real estate is still in the early stages of a downturn, but the picture could brighten by the middle of 2010, NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun told attendees of the REALTORS® Midyear Legislative Meetings Thursday.
Credit markets seized up almost entirely in the days after Lehmann Brothers collapsed in September 2008 as lenders shifted to survival mode, Yun said. The economy has since shown signs of stabilizing, but credit availability for commercial real estate remains frozen.
The volume of commercial mortgage-backed security (CMBS) issuances so far in 2009 is essentially zero, Yun said, compared to just two years ago when $230 billion in loans were securitized.
Until investors show an appetite for commercial loans again, property owners face a severe credit crunch as hundreds of billions of debt comes due, he said.
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Posted by admin on May 14, 2009 under Jokers... | Be the First to Comment
Did I catch you with that title? I bet.
Our lovely office manager received this enticing document today in the mail – a wonderful back looking to loan here some money – check out that interest rate – I wish I could get more than $3k at that rate!
Posted by admin on May 11, 2009 under Good Info - Read It | Be the First to Comment
It was pretty well publicized when just last month the John Hancock Tower in Boston sold for just over $660 million – when the previous owners paid over $1.3billion for it in 2006. Now more news of other premium classs A properties in major metro areas having similar fates, and investors are showing restraint at picking up these propertis at even half price: Read more of this article »
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This news release surfaced today – it seems that Capmark Financial has secured a loan from private sources in the sum of $1.5 billion. CapMark is an investment firm that specializes in CMBS (commercial mortgage backed securities). They currently have a portfolio of investments are beginning to come due in 3Q and 4Q 2009. This loan will stabilize their portfolio of investments for at least 10 months at worst, depending on terms and conditions set forth the the loan documents.
To me, this is a great sign that some of this commercial debt is attractive to large investment banks – and that they are willing to put some of their cash on the street and at risk for the next 12-18 months.
Full News Release: Read more of this article »
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If you are involved in the commercial real estate market in any capacity, it should be clear to you that the frothy market of 2006 and 2007 evaporated in 2008 and has yet to return. Volume in all property types is significantly off and cap rates are higher, meaning that property values have decreased.
Where are we going? Read more of this article »
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by Tim Davis
For those of us that aren’t heavily involved in the nuts of bolts of commercial finance, a substantial portion of the US and worldwide bond market consists of ‘commercial mortgage backed securities’, or CMBS. The CMBS market is quite volatile at this time, as so much of that debt will be coming due in the next 12-24 months. We have covered this issue in depth here on Real Estate Jokers – and will continue to do so. We do focus on trying to keep things positive, but on the other hand in order to be successful in any market condition, you need to be up to date on the facts.
Here is Standard & Poors report today on the issue: Read more of this article »
