Trends
AB2640 Seeks to Repeal 1031 Exchanges in California
March 15, 2010
First of all, for those of you who dropped me a note wondering if I was still alive, rest assured I am. Thanks for the concern.
Now to the pressing issue, a bill within the California state assembly which seeks to repeal the tax benefits of 1031 exchanges in California. We’ve been discussing for a while [...]
Mountain View Considering Upping North Bayshore FAR
February 18, 2010
Google has devoured much of the Shoreline and North Bayshore area of Mountain View and now is seeking to work with the city of Mountain View to make the city “a model for Silicon Valley”.
This entails bringing in MUX and residential uses, and increasing the FAR. My bet is public transportation (rightly so) is a [...]
2010 Silicon Valley Index Released
February 17, 2010
Joint Venture Silicon Valley Network has released its comprehensive Silicon Valley Index for 2010. The 76-page report covers everything Silicon Valley, from governance, to economy and society.
The full report can be downloaded from here. We’ll also link to it from our link bar.
[via Joint Venture]
Congressional Oversight Panel Issues Report on CRE
February 11, 2010
The Congressional Oversight Panel, chaired by Elizabeth Warren has issued its February report, and it’s focus is on “Commercial Real Estate Losses and the Risk to Financial Stability”.
It’s a long read (189 pages), but from the executive summary here are some key points:
Between 2010 and 2014, about $1.4 trillion in commercial real estate loans will [...]
Surprise Surprise: More Store Closings
February 4, 2010
More store closings are expected. This doesn’t come as much of a surprise. Given the percentage of sales retailers ring up during the holiday season, it was obvious it would have been wise to get through the holiday season and then put the wheels of closure back in action.
Bloomberg has a pretty cool little multimedia [...]
The Irony of Silicon Valley
January 29, 2010
This is a post I’ve been wanting to write for a while, but until now I was not sure how or what to write exactly. It’s a bit long, but I think it is important.
Silicon Valley is the center of innovation and home to giants of industry. It’s the place companies like Cisco, Google, Facebook, [...]
Layoffs Back: Verizon 13K, Sam’s Club 11K
January 27, 2010
The other day Wal-Mart announced 11-12K layoffs at its Sam’s Club unit. Yesterday we got word that Verizon is planning on laying off roughly 13,000 employees in 2010. This comes on the back of some pretty significant cuts it made in 2009.
And today Home Depot is announcing 1,000 layoffs.
…and there will be more. Retail sales [...]
Bruce Mosler of C&W Optimistic
January 26, 2010
Bruce Mosler, co-chairman of Cushman & Wakefield believes that the activity at the end of 2009 will continue. There is no doubt about that; companies as we type are negotiating large deals (there are numerous 200K+ SF deals in the works) in the valley. The question is not absorption so much as it should be [...]
Read More >>Howard Marks of Oaktree on the Economy
January 26, 2010
Hedge Fund Manager Howard Marks of Oaktree Capital put out a client memo discussing the economy. The 12-page letter is interesting, but the underlying theme is uncertainty.
The document can be found on the below linked site.
[via Business Insider]
Moody’s: CRE Prices Will Continue To Fall
January 26, 2010
Despite seeing a 1% uptick in November prices, Moody’s is indicating that it is very likely that commercial real estate prices will continue to fall.
“We anticipate further deterioration in property fundamentals and increases in cap rates,” he suggested, acknowledging that “the worst of the value declines is likely over.”
This goes to the heart of what [...]
