- MetLife Extends Property Bet With $505 Million of Orlando Loans “MetLife Inc. loaned $505 million to help refinance a hotel portfolio at Universal Orlando Resort as the largest U.S. life insurer seeks higher-yielding assets. MetLife extended the loan to an investor group including affiliates of Loews Hotels & Resorts, NBCUniversal and Hard Rock International.” (Bloomberg)
- Hudson’s Bay Chairman Says Real Estate Venture Could Be Model for Retailers “Hudson’s Bay Co. Chairman Richard Baker says a joint-venture his company set up for some of its real estate could be a model for rivals who are under pressure to extract value from their properties. In an interview, Mr. Baker said many retailers aren’t properly valued by the market because investors don’t fully understand the real estate they hold.” (Wall Street Journal)
- New York City REIT Buys Bank of America Building in Troy “The Bank of America building in Troy has a new out-of-state owner with a significant real estate background in metro Detroit. The sale of the 450,000-square-foot building at 2600 W. Big Beaver Road, directly east of The Somerset Collection, sold Wednesday to New York City-based real estate information trust Sovereign Partners LLC for an undisclosed price.” (Crain’s Detroit Business)
- Paulson Adds to Puerto Rico Property with Hotel Purchase “Paulson & Co., the firm run by billionaire John Paulson, is buying a hotel in San Juan, Puerto Rico, for about $20 million, expanding the hedge fund manager’s investments in the commonwealth. The New York-based hedge fund firm will acquire the San Juan Beach Hotel and develop an ultra-luxury boutique hotel at the site as it renovates the property.” (Bloomberg)
- Darden Bondholders Protest Plan to Spin Off Real Estate “Some bondholders are having a tough time swallowing Darden Restaurants Inc.’s plan to separate its real estate. A group of bondholders has informed the Olive Garden parent they will call a default if Darden completes the real-estate separation without their consent, according to people familiar with the matter.” (Wall Street Journal)
- How Chinese Stock Turmoil Affect U.S. Commercial Real Estate “A dramatic stock market plunge led to speculation that the crash could trickle down to the US real estate market. In just three weeks, stocks listed on mainland China’s most prominent exchange tumbled 30% from near-historic highs, wiping out nearly $3 trillion in market cap. Similarly, The ChiNext Index--China’s NASDAQ--lost 42% of its value over 21 days.” (Bisnow)
- MBA Significantly Increase Lending Forecast, Originations to Top $800 Billion “This week the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) significantly updated its mortgage finance and economic forecasts for the balance of 2015.The revision included a significant increase in the volume of purchase originations. MBA now projects that purchase originations will reach $801 billion in 2015 and $885 billion in 2016.” (World Property Journal)
- American Realty Advisors, Vulcan Set Seattle Record “American Realty Advisors is boosting its Seattle area holdings with the purchase of 2201 Westlake Ave., a fully-leased Class A office/retail building in the South Lake Union submarket, from Vulcan Real Estate for $251 million. The sale of the 12-story, 317,000-square-foot property set a record in the city per square foot at $792 per square foot.” (Commercial Property Executive)
- Gassed: Are Energy-Rich Markets Losing Their Luster? “When oil prices began falling earlier this year, Ryan Epstein's phone wouldn't stop ringing. Epstein, executive vice president at Los Angeles–based real estate services firm CBRE, was answering calls for two different groups of apartment owners: those looking to buy distressed properties and those who were worried about their portfolios.” (Multifamily Executive)
- Institutional Investor Participation, Distressed Home Sales in U.S. at Record Low “According to RealtyTrac's Midyear 2015 U.S. Home Sales Report, distressed sales, cash sales and institutional investor sales in June were all down from a year ago to multi-year lows even as sales to first-time homebuyers and other buyers using FHA loans increased compared to a year ago in June and reached a two-year high in the second quarter.” (World Property Journal)
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