Latest Articles
Prudential Takes Back Torre Plaza
February 16, 2010
It was imminent, but Prudential has taken back Torre Plaza from RREEF/Snell in a non-judicial foreclosure action. The building was taken back on a credit bid of about $17.6M or $187 psf, which it is not worth. We first wrote up a post about the default back in October. This ended up being a raw [...]
Simon Property Group Going After General Growth
February 16, 2010
Simon Property Group (SPG: 95.36 +1.92%) has bid $10B for General Growth [GGWPQ.PK]. This comes as little surprise as there has been plenty of talk about Simon seeking to swallow the troubled owner of malls. The bidding likely will go higher as General Growth also seeks alternative financing from other groups as a way to [...]
Sheraton in Pleasanton Sold for $12.3M
February 11, 2010
About a year ago we reported on the default of the Sheraton in Pleasanton. The hotel has now changed hands to a group of investors for $12.3M, or $72K per key (170 rooms). The buyers, a partnership of Sethi Enterprises and Kapoor Enterprises expects to dump an additional $2m into the asset to upgrade lobbies [...]
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 [...]
Faber: US Will Default
February 10, 2010
Here’s to some comical relief (we hope). Marc Faber on CNBC projecting most governments will default, including the US, though he conveniently left out a time frame in his statement. My thoughts are that if we’re going to default, might as well do it now while we still have the superior military rather than wait. [...]
Head of Apollo Predicts Bonanza in CRE
February 10, 2010
The founder of Apollo Management, Leon Black, has predicted that there will be a bonanza in commercial real estate opportunities in a Financial Times article. “I think a lot of the traditional holders of this real estate are going to be forced to sell as things are marked down,” he said. “Commercial real estate will [...]
Closing Up: Ritz Carlton Las Vegas Shutting Doors May 2nd
February 10, 2010
The Ritz Carlton Las Vegas is set to close on May 2nd as a result of lax demand. The hotel is a bit out of the way, but is certainly a very nice resort. The owner of the property is an arm of Deutsche Bank, which has decided to stop funding the resort effective May [...]
The Good Old Days Are Back
February 9, 2010
A 612-unit apartment complex in Granite Bay has changed hands for $54M. The property went from hitting the market to sold in 48 days. Part of the reason why this was possible is the agency debt available for apartment purchases. The best part of the deal was the due diligence. According to John Adair, a [...]
Investors Wary of Writing Blank Checks
February 9, 2010
Private money was flowing into REITs by the billions last year (about $20B). But when it comes to handing money over to “blind pools”, the money has been timid. Blind pools are essentially funds offering nothing more than a business plan. Despite having great track records, Ziman (Arden Realty) and Callahan (Trizec Properties) may have [...]
Green Street Advisors: CRE Prices Up 10%
February 8, 2010
According to the Green Street Advisors Commercial Property Price Index (original name), prices are up 1% in January, and now up 10% off the bottom reached in May of 2009. The GSA’s index is based on prices for transactions which have not yet closed yet, as opposed to Moody’s which reflects closed transactions. This is [...]
