Commercial Real Estate Finance

Posts Tagged ‘office vacancy’

This ranking is drawn from Business Insider’s Top 17 “Coolest” Co-Working Spaces.  Even though co-working and other business innovations have been discussed in the real estate community for some time now, it’s worth looking at how these unusual spaces (or collectives) can fit into the strategy of office real estate investors and operators. Here are my picks for Top 10 Co-Working Spaces in the U.S.: 

• Ace Hotel
• Citizen Space
• CoLab
• The Coop
• Green Spaces
• Indy Hall
• Jellyfish Cartel
• Link Coworking
•  Parisoma
• Officio

I found the Business Insider article through The Tenant Advisor, an excellent blog focused on workplace trends and office real estate. I’ve been quite interested in this subject as well, and have dedicated a number of posts to the open-space office layout that’s fundamental to most co-working setups. Let’s pause for a brief definition of Co-working, courtesy of you-know-who:

Coworking is a style of work that involves a shared working environment, often an office, and independent activity. Unlike in a typical office environment, those coworking are usually not employed by the same organization. Typically it is attractive to work-at-home professionals, independent contractors, or people who travel frequently who end up working in relative isolation Read the rest of this entry »

Week in Review for January 26 – February 1:

- The Federal Reserve announces it will continue to boost the economy by acquiring bonds and holding down interest rates. The Fed indicated it would continue this strategy until unemployment has fallen to 6.5%, reports CNBC. The current unemployment rate is 7.9%.

- In positive news for the commercial real estate industry, CoStar Group reports improvement in demand and occupancy for the office sector, which analysts believe will lead to rent growth in many markets. Office real estate has been extremely slow to recover from the 2008-09 financial crisis, partly due to pre-recession overbuilding. But limited new development and the demolition or repurposing of older office buildings have led to a decrease in vacancy rates.

- In San Diego, Pebblebrook Hotel Trust (NYSE: PEB) acquires the Embassy Suites San Diego Bay hotel for $112.5 million. The REIT purchased the 337-room property following a $3.5 million renovation by the previous owner.

- Also in California, WPV San Jose, LLC, a subsidiary of Vornado Realty Trust (NYSE: VNO), sells its share of a 650,500-SF San Jose shopping center to Cole Real Estate Investments. Because some retailers own their own space, portions of the property, which is called The Plant, were not included in the $205 million transaction.

- This deal reflects ongoing investor interest in the Silicon Valley real estate market, where numerous technology and Internet firms show potential for further expansion. One example is Ebay Inc., which has leased an additional 50,000 SF to accommodate its growth.

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Commercial Real Estate Week In Review – The Week of July 3-9

- CMBS is returning to middle market loans…just very slowly.

- Holy Schnikies!  The U.S. Government Made a good bet!  The TARP Program has turned a profit.

- Meanwhile, “Pretend and Extend” is now viewed skeptically. ( When was it not?)

- Commercial real estate bonds are under-performing the broader market.  Why?

- Pebblebrook, a hotel REIT, has continued its buying frenzy with a $105M Atlanta purchase.
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