December 1, 2006

Cover Story

2007 Forecast

Walking the Line

Dec 1, 2006 12:00 PM, By Matt Hudgins

As 2006 draws to a close, the U.S. economy and the Federal Reserve are in the midst of a difficult high-wire act with little margin for error. ...

Hotel Development Pipeline Swells

Dec 1, 2006 12:00 PM, By H. Lee Murphy

Buoyed by strong occupancies and room rates, the hotel industry is poised to embark on its biggest construction binge since the go-go days of the late 1990s...

Keen On Consolidation

Dec 1, 2006 12:00 PM, By Joe Gose

Economists and real estate experts are warning retail landlords to prepare for buffeting winds. A slowdown in consumer spending that is all but certain will curtail demand for retail space...

Housing Wobble Lifts Apartment Industry

Dec 1, 2006 12:00 PM, By Parke M. Chapman

Falling vacancies, rising rents and limited new supply have bolstered the apartment market in recent quarters. With one month left to go in 2006, many investors and market watchers believe that the coming year looks promising...

Office Market Obstacles Ahead

Dec 1, 2006 12:00 PM, By Parke M. Chapman

Reaping the rewards of rising rents and positive net absorption, office owners are in good spirits these days. Asking rents posted a 1.8% increase in the third quarter...

An Aging Recovery

Dec 1, 2006 12:00 PM, By Stan Luxenberg

After three years of surging demand, the industrial sector is expected to encounter some turbulence in 2007....

Features

Twin Cities Harbor Hidden Office Buys

Dec 1, 2006 12:00 PM, By Beth Mattson-Teig

On the surface, the Minneapolis-St. Paul office market appears to be plodding along at a steady, yet unremarkable clip. But a closer look reveals a market that is bubbling with activity...

Enter the Virtual War Room

Dec 1, 2006 12:00 PM, By Ben Johnson

The commercial real estate community is feeling the need for speed. Second only to achieving the highest possible price in today's frothy investment sales market, the ability to act quickly is the new necessity for sellers....

Investors Shy Away from Budapest

Dec 1, 2006 12:00 PM, By Bennett Voyles

Angry at the prime minister following revelations that he had lied about the shaky state of Hungary's finances, 10,000 citizens took to the streets in September in protests...

Developments

A Major REIT Retreat

Dec 1, 2006 12:00 PM, Parke M. Chapman

Privatization mania reached a crescendo in late November when Blackstone Group, the largest buyout fund in the world, offered to pay $20 billion for Equity Office Properties Trust (NYSE: EOP)...

MANAGEMENT-LED BUYOUT TARGETS MAJOR HOTELIER

Dec 1, 2006 12:00 PM

Four Seasons Hotels (NYSE:FS), one of the world's most luxurious hotel brands, announced plans to go private in November....

Empire Building

Dec 1, 2006 12:00 PM, Parke M. Chapman

CB Richard Ellis was already an 800-pound gorilla before it unveiled plans on Halloween to acquire Trammell Crow Co....

Google Sets Sights on Solar Power

Dec 1, 2006 12:00 PM, John Egan

Spurred by declining solar power costs and an increase in state and federal incentives for adopting the energy source, search-engine giant Google Inc. and other property owners are turning to the sun for their energy needs....

Enticing Fairways

Dec 1, 2006 12:00 PM, H. Lee Murphy

The game of golf, which hasn't been kind to public REIT investors in recent years, is attracting the interest of private-equity investors. ...

Q & A

Dec 1, 2006 12:00 PM, Sibley Fleming

Brett Hutchens: Why mixed-use lifestyle communities aren't going anywhere soon There's sketchy agreement in the development community about exactly which...

Names In The News

NAMES IN THE NEWS

Dec 1, 2006 12:00 PM

Fred Sheriff has joined Sperry Van Ness as a senior vice president and regional manager. Sheriff will oversee the firm's Southern California leasing and...

Deals and Projects

In Progress: Park Michigan

Dec 1, 2006 12:00 PM

Park Michigan will be an 855-foot tall skyscraper and rank as one of Chicago's 10 tallest buildings south of Van Buren Street. The tower will feature green roofs as well as 376 residential units, 35,000 sq. ft. of retail, a grocery store and a spa....

DEALS & PROJECTS

Dec 1, 2006 12:00 PM

DiamondRock Hospitality has acquired the Chicago Conrad Hotel for $117.5 million from a joint venture between Westbrook Partners, Walton Street Capital...

Columns

Big Challenge: Finding a New Catalyst to Drive the Economy

Dec 1, 2006 12:00 PM, Matt Valley

Gauging the future direction of the economy is similar to the football team captain who calls the coin toss. Economists have a 50/50 chance to get it right....

Her Father's Daughter: Lucy Crow Billingsley

Dec 1, 2006 12:00 PM, By Christine Perez

Growing up as the only daughter of legendary Dallas developer Trammell Crow, Lucy Crow Billingsley was raised in the finest Southern belle tradition.By the time she got to college, the debutante couldn't wait to rip off the long white gloves...

Avoid Pitfalls of the Cost Approach

Dec 1, 2006 12:00 PM, By Jim Popp, Esq.

The valuation of manufacturing plants for property tax purposes presents a challenge for both owners and property tax officials. ...

Empowering Women

Dec 1, 2006 12:00 PM, By Sibley Fleming

This year Muhammad Yunus, Bangladeshi economist and founder of the Grameen Bank, won the Nobel Peace Prize for lifting millions of poor people primarily women out of poverty. ...

The Easy Money Won't Last Forever

Dec 1, 2006 12:00 PM, By Anthony Downs

Unable to find decent yields from other forms of assets, investors flocked to real estate, especially after the stock market crash in 2000. The result has been a Niagara of capital that has driven property prices upward and compressed yields to low levels....

Firing On All Cylinders

Dec 1, 2006 12:00 PM, By Dees Stribling

While the giddy investment market in the warehouse/distribution sector is backed by falling vacancies and rising rents, one wildcard clouds the short-term outlook...