Latest Articles
Kudos to Cornish & Carey
May 10, 2010
It seems that the folks over at Cornish & Carey have decided to put rental rate and available space information back up on their website. I was admittedly harsh on them back in January when I wrote a post about why I felt hiding this information was counterproductive and against the interests of the landlords [...]
Mark to Market: Sunnyvale R&D Trades For $40 PSF
May 7, 2010
Well there you go, $40 psf on a building, and less than $1M/acre for a Sunnyvale R&D project. We’re back to the lows of 2003 as far as land costs go when Gilbane acquired the 12-acre site of Kifer Commerce Park for about $19 psf. The purchase of 645 Almanor by Trumark sets a new [...]
What The Market Told Us Today
May 6, 2010
We were told that a trader put in a “B” (for billion) instead of an “M” (for million). Then we’re told it was tied to the E-Mini futures. Let’s say we’re naive enough to believe the B vs M scenario is accurate. The total market capitalization of the US stock market is probably somewhere around [...]
Roubini’s Back: “In A Few Days There Might Not Be A Eurozone”
April 28, 2010
The prolific Roubini is back! At the Milken Global Conference on a panel to discuss the Eurozone, Roubini indicated that “in a few days…there might not be a eurozone for us to discuss.” That certainly is an extreme view. But if you have been following the Greek debt crisis, one thing is certain, and that [...]
Richard LeFrak on CNBC With a Wait and See Attitude
April 27, 2010
Richard LeFrak of the LeFrak Organization was on CNBC with Maria to discuss commercial real estate. He continues to be somewhat cautious and is taking a “wait and see” approach, though there is certainly more cautious optimism out of him. Echoing his comments, multifamily continues to be hot with investors scrambling to take a stab [...]
JLL Squeezes Out a Profit in Q1
April 27, 2010
Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL: 94.27 0.00%) posted earnings this afternoon and they managed to squeeze out a small profit in a continuing sign of stability in the brokerage business. The company reported a profit of $200,000, which although paltry, is a vast improvement from the $60M loss they posted a year ago for the same [...]
Government Taking Donations To Pay Down Debt
April 22, 2010
Believe it or not, the government has established a website whereby you can make a donation to help pay down the public debt. Absolutely classic. See for yourself Do your part and donate $30K!
Moody’s CPPI Index Down 2.6%
April 20, 2010
In our previous post we indicated that risk was back, alluding to our belief that many investors are likely getting ahead of themselves in believing that we’ve seen the worst of it. In a market where the government is willing to artificially provide support to markets at nearly any cost (debt), it ultimately leads to [...]
Welcome Back Risk
April 19, 2010
For the past few months, it seems the bears have taken a back seat to a lot of bullishness, particularly in commercial real estate. A few months of rising prices, equity flowing everywhere, and a whole lot more buyers than sellers has made many investors feel that perhaps we’ve seen the worst of it. Perhaps [...]
GS Whitehall Funds Down to Last $30M … From $1.8B!
April 16, 2010
And you thought that Morgan Stanley Real Estate Funds were the only players in town who had an expertise in losing massive amounts of money. The Financial Times is reporting that Whitehall Street International, GS’s international REF has essentially been wiped out. The fund is down to its last $30m, from about $1.8bn, a loss [...]
