PREA Panel: Don’t Overlook Inner-City Investments
Half of the U.S. population lives in the nation’s top 50 urban centers. And the purchasing power of this inner-city populace is enormous. Largely African...
LIVE FROM PREA 2004: Offshoring Trend to Accelerate Through 2015
The offshoring of white-collar jobs to China and India has contributed to the struggles of the U.S. office market over the past few years — and the trend...
Why Borrowers Are Flocking to Mezz Debt
The insatiable investor demand for real estate over the last couple of years has touched off a mezzanine debt bonanza. Traditional lenders, opportunity...
Live from MBA/CREF 2004: Mold A Growing Concern for Lenders
ORLANDO — The financial fallout from mold could very well make asbestos look like "a day at the beach" for commercial real estate financiers and owners,...
Live from MBA/CREF 2004: GMAC Tops Annual List of Loan Servicers
ORLANDO – With $213.7 billion in master and primary servicing, GMAC Commercial Holding Corp. tops the Mortgage Bankers Association’s annual ranking of...
Live from MBA/CREF 2004: Don’t Expect an Office ‘Surge’ Until ’05
ORLANDO -- It will be 2005 before the office market sees a surge of demand, according to a panel of industry experts at the Mortgage Bankers Association’s...
Live from MBA/CREF 2004: Commercial and Multifamily Originations Set Record in ’03
ORLANDO -- Commercial and multifamily mortgage loan originations set a record during 2003, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. The $116 billion...
Live from MBA/CREF 2004: General Tells Bankers That WMD Probe Is a Good Idea
ORLANDO – Gen. Tommy Franks told several hundred commercial mortgage bankers gathered here Monday for an annual convention that he welcomes the creation...
CMBS Loan Delinquencies Climb in Fourth Quarter
Office and multifamily CMBS delinquencies continued to climb during the fourth quarter of 2003, reports Fitch Ratings. In fact, total delinquencies increased...
Debt Pipeline Is Bulging, Especially for Apartments
The calendar shows that it's a new year, but in commercial real estate lending circles it certainly feels like 2003. Persistently low interest rates the...
OFFICE SQUEEZE PLAY
Surging worker productivity is great news for the U.S. economy because ultimately it leads to job creation. But in the near term, high productivity gains...
Wells Poised To Buy Major Boston Office Tower
It appears that Wells Real Estate Funds — sponsor of the Wells real estate investment trust — is the front-running bidder on a 1 million sq. ft. Boston...
Beacon Buys L.A’s Citicorp Center for $170M
Beacon Capital Partners has acquired a prominent Los Angeles skyscraper. The Boston-based investment firm prevailed over a competitive field of bidders...
Wells Buys Major Chicago Office Building
Wells Real Estate Investments has bought Chicago’s 1.1 million sq. ft. Leo Burnett building for nearly $300 million. The unlisted REIT also purchased...
Loosening the Leash on Underwriting Standards
Commercial lending volume is bursting at the seams, the result of competitive, deal-savvy lenders willing to relax underwriting standards to get money...
MBA Survey Shows Continued Strength Through Second Quarter
Commercial and multifamily lending volumes posted large increases during the second quarter of 2003, up 56% from the first quarter and up 29% from the...
Offshore Fund Buys Heavy Stake In Manhattan Office Building
Australian ING Office Fund has acquired a 49% interest in 900 Third Avenue, a 36-floor Manhattan office tower. For $163 million, ING acquired the stake,...
Greenwich Capital Refinances LA Trophy Towers for $510M
Los Angeles' landmark tower U.S Bank Tower and the Wells Fargo Tower have been refinanced by two loans totaling $510 million. RBS Greenwich Capital's...
The Grocery-Buying Binge
Everybody loves grocery-anchored shopping centers. Private equity investors, shareholders of public REITs and especially brokers who see fat commission...
CMBS Loan Delinquencies Up in Second Quarter
The balance of U.S delinquent loans jumped from $2.8 billion to almost $3.4 billion during the second quarter, reports Fitch Ratings. That brings the...
Legg Mason Sells Real Estate Divisions
Baltimore-based asset manager Legg Mason will sell the commercial mortgage banking and mortgage servicing operations of its wholly owned subsidiary, Legg...
Have We Hit Bottom?
If, indeed, the U.S. is in the early stages of a long anticipated rebound, there were no signs of it in the commercial real estate industry in the first...
Economy Feels Worse Than It Actually Is
Like the rest of the economy, commercial real estate is awaiting a rebound in the job market. The Federal Reserve has served notice that while it likes...
No Slowdown for CMBS Lenders
After two years of falling net operating income in commercial real estate, the lending community has begun to tighten its underwriting standards. Yet...
Top 25 Direct Lenders
The Top Direct Lenders & Intermediaries rankings were originally published in May 2003 and are based on responses to NREI's Top Lender Survey questionnaire....
