Real Insight. Real Estate.

Archive for the ‘Entertainment/Humor’ Category

While attending RealShare Philadelphia 2010 recently, Dr. Peter Linneman, a renowned economist and UPenn professor spoke about the economy and its impact on real estate.  He made a very interesting observation regarding the stagnation in the economy, and subsequently, its strain on commercial real estate.

“How many of you watched the Super Bowl?” he asked. “What if when the Saints scored a touchdown, the refs decided to put up 6 points for the Colts?  What if when the Colts kicked a field goal, the refs decided not to award them any points?  What if the refs started making tackles and intercepting passes?  Would you bet on that kind of game?”  Rhetorically, he followed, “No, you would probably turn the game off after 10 minutes.  Why?  Because as entertaining as it may be, its a stupid game and impossible to predict the outcome.”

“Regulators enforce the rules of the game to be played, much like referees in sports. Right now”, Linneman says, “the Fed, FDIC, and Federal Government, all of whom are supposed to be regulators, and thus referees, are acting as players too.” Read the rest of this entry »

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

CRE Investing Advice from Grubb & Ellis and Invesco AIM

Insight into the Current Outlook for Hospitality

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

What’s a Regional Fed’s take on the Current State of the Economy?

Is Industrial Real Estate Currently a Good Buy?

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

First you get the money. Then you get the power. Then you get the women. I believe an inebriated Homer Simpson said that.  And usually that mantra is associated with high powered Wall Street types. We all probably have a friend or two who saw Boiler Room, and wanted to be just like the powder-sniffing, high-flying, lavish-spending stock brokers in that film. But who says real estate guys don’t know how to have fun? Read the rest of this entry »

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

Kimco CEO David Henry shares his thoughts on consumer spending habits…in his malls.

Pacific Sun’s Andy Martel tell us why Chinese Banks and Properties may be on the downswing.

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

This Valentine’s Day, Bill Maher has a message for all of us who are still in an abusive relationship…. with our Bank!

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

An analysis of the housing crisis by Karl Case:

For the last few years, we have shed many tears
Living through a recession.
The economy’s broke and it’s not a joke,
When we talk of another depression.
Fifteen million without a job,
Foreclosures and banks that fail,
401K’s became 201K’s,
And everything’s up for sale.

Read the rest of this entry »

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

Editor’s Note: With Valentine’s Day coming up this weekend (order your flowers ASAP!), we figured, why not start off the week with a Cupid-esque topic? We can’t wait to hear your feedback on this one….

When a joint venture partnership occurs in real estate, the term “getting into bed” is often tossed around. And despite the fact that real estate is an industry dominated by men (and therefore subject to more coarse, perverted analogies), this phrase is somewhat appropriate. When you sleep with someone, you want to make sure you are protected (from exactly what, I will leave to the reader’s imagination), right?  Well the same goes for your equity partner in a real estate transaction.  Yet, while all real estate transaction involve some form of due diligence, JV equity partnerships involve an entirely different level of due diligence.

Rather than scoping out the salient facts of the deal, examining the borrowers track record, and crossing all the “t’s” and dotting all the “i’s” of a particular transaction (like a bank might do), an equity partner has to get extremely comfortable with the sponsor’s style and personality in addition to the aforementioned due diligence.  For this reason vetting a JV equity partner has become a lot more like eHarmony than a one night stand. Read the rest of this entry »

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

Starwood Hotels CEO on Earnings and Outlook

Geithner On Community Banks

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

FDIC chairman Sheila Bair discusses banks failures in 2010.
Bair states that commercial real estate loans will continue to play a large role in bank failures.

Indian billionaire Adi Godrej discusses how the Indian central bank’s increase of the reserve requirement will effect real estate markets in India, and the opportunity this presents to foreign investors.

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!