Commercial Real Estate Finance

Posts Tagged ‘California’

There are a number of ways to determine the nation’s “top” multifamily markets. It all depends on one’s specialty or investment strategy. Even so, this ranking, based on late-2012 vacancy data from ReisReports, is a good place to start. Here are the Top 10 U.S. Multifamily Markets by Vacancy Rate:

10. McAllen, TX: 2.3%

9. Honolulu, HI: 2.3%  

8. Fargo, ND: 2.3%

8. Once more, in case the enormity of the statement hasn’t yet sunk in: Fargo, ND: 2.3%

7. Bellingham, WA: 2.3%

6. Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, PA: 2.2%  Read the rest of this entry »

As in the rest of life, there are very few black-and-white issues when it comes to investing in and developing commercial real estate. Efforts to promote green energy and sustainability are a perfect example. While most of us have seen An Inconvenient Truth, or pictures of melting ice caps, or at least noticed that last winter was awfully warm, the desire to develop or redevelop properties in a way that is environmentally responsible must be weighed against the desire not to go bankrupt.

In this week’s fascinating Executive Interview, Iron Stone’s Jason Friedland discussed some of the material choices he has faced while redeveloping major properties:

We pursue redevelopment strategies that make financial sense, so our model of adaptive reuse is inherently “green.”  For example… we used soy-based insulation instead of traditional materials because it was faster to apply and effectively provided an unbroken blanket of insulation.  While the material was more costly per square foot, the labor savings gained from faster application of the soy product made more financial sense.

While a more environmentally friendly alternative material like this may be more expensive, it may also provide advantages like long-term energy savings (better insulation = lower heating/cooling costs) or, in Mr. Friedland’s example, lower labor costs for installation. Read the rest of this entry »

Mensch: 

Noun, informal. A decent, upright, mature and responsible person.

Schlemiel: 

Noun, slang. An awkward, clumsy, or unlucky person whose endeavors tend to fail; a loser. 

Mensch of the Week:

Mortgage Resolution Partners (MRP)

Of the many challenges the U.S. faces in this recession, one of the biggest is housing. Though the whole sub-prime mortgage debacle came to a head a few years ago, the problem continues to drag down our housing market, with extremely high numbers of underwater and foreclosed homes in many states. In California, one of the worst hit markets, the foreclosure rate last month was 1 in 288 (see the chart below, courtesy of The Economist).

Considering such dire conditions, and major banks’ unwillingness to help alleviate a problem they helped create, I’m inclined to applaud anyone in the real estate world with a creative solution to this seemingly insurmountable problem.

I’m awarding Mortgage Resolution Partners (MRP) the title of Mensch of the Week for their creative strategy to ease the financial woes of both homeowners and their local economies. The firm’s strategy, which they’ve pitched in San Bernadino County, involves making unorthodox use of a government’s constitutional right to declare eminent domain. Read the rest of this entry »

Mensch: Noun, informal. A decent, upright, mature and responsible person.

Schlemiel: Noun, slang. An awkward, clumsy, or unlucky person whose endeavors tend to fail; a loser.

Mensch of the Week:

Irvine Sellar, developer of the Shard

If you recall the nursery rhyme, it’s worth using caution in any undertaking that involves the area known as London Bridge Quarter. Let’s just say, when it comes to anything “London Bridge,” unforeseen events seem likely to occur. 

For Irvine Sellar of Sellar Property Group, who headed the development of the Shard, Europe’s tallest building, unforeseen events were indeed a part of the story. With 72 inhabitable floors and an all-glass shell mirroring the city of London and the nearby Thames, this dagger of a skyscraper has seen more than a little controversy and financial uncertainty during its development. Read the rest of this entry »

Last Monday, Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced the winner of New York City’s competition to develop a new applied sciences center on Roosevelt Island.

And the winner is…

Cornell University, partnering with Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, is the winner of an 11-acre section of the island. The universities’ $2 billion plan, designed by architectural firm Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, beat out such competition as Columbia, Stanford, and Carnegie Mellon. The project is funded in part by billionaire philanthropist and Cornell grad Charles Feeney, who amassed his fortune as a pioneer in the “duty-free shopping” industry.

The high-tech, environmentally innovative campus is expected to turn Roosevelt Island, one of New York’s least-populated and least-developed areas, into a technology hub that will compete with Stanford and other West Coast centers of innovation. Read the rest of this entry »

Here are the ten most expensive CRE markets in the U.S., ranked by rent per square foot:

10. Chicago ($25.20)

9. West Palm Beach, FL ($27.71)

8. Los Angeles ($27.97)

7. San Jose, CA ($30.35)

6. Boston ($31.15) Read the rest of this entry »

Sometimes things that are not-so-great start to look better, but it doesn’t mean that those things are actually better, like being unemployed and getting an extension on your rent from your landlord. Sure that might sound good, but the problem is that you have a bad history with paying rent, you don’t have a job, and it might be hard to find one soon. The landlord is taking a huge risk on you. Although the situation might appear to be better now, it probably won’t pay off in the end.

Read the rest of this entry »

Philip Blumberg  Addresses How Commodity Prices Effect Commercial Real Estate

KB Homes Reports on Their Eco- Friendly Luxury Condos in California

Commercial Real Estate Week in Review for the Week of April 9th through April 15th

- Avalon Bay Communities and UDR Inc. Exchange assets in a $500 Million Deal.

- Old Blockbuster Stores Serve as Excellent Commercial Space for New Retailers

- How Long Will The REIT Frenzy Last?

- Congress Passes Spending Bill Avoiding Government Shutdown.

Read the rest of this entry »

Amendment 4 was put on Florida’s November ballot by a group of environmental activists and attorneys who wish to control the construction and supply of new development in one of our country’s largest housing markets.  The Amendment would allow voters to decide on changes in local land-use plans in the hopes of making better land-use decisions.  Supporters say the initiative would help prevent the out of control speculative building that created Florida’s real estate bubble and consequent crash. Read the rest of this entry »