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Commercial Real Estate and Business News

Archive for December, 2007

Phoenix Plumbers

Posted by Dylan on December 22, 2007

If you’re ever on the lookout for a plumber in Phoenix, try the new site at http://www.plumberphoenix.info/ This is a new service that allows businesses to advertise themselves locally without the expense of building a website and optimizing it. Information displayed includes:

  • Company Name and Logo or other image.
  • Full Contact Information including toll free and regular phone numbers, fax number.
  • Website URL and contact email address.
  • Text describing the company and products offered.
  • Opening hours

If you would like more information about this service contact info@blueadder.com

Housing Market Tracker

Posted by Dylan on December 19, 2007

Seeking Alpha have just posted their Housing Market Tracker - Commercial Real Estate and REITs Review - a good read for those in the business or just those tracking the commercial real estate business.

CRW prices declining

Posted by Dylan on December 14, 2007

Moody’s now reports that commercial real estate prices are declining in line with the tightening credit squeeze. All of these reports are based on how things were before the cash injection into the banking system by the major central banks (see BBC News). This cash injection resulted in LIBOR rates decreasing slightly. The injection of cash should also allow the banks to stop relying on each other for money and allow them to use government money. The BBC News site especially mentions Northern Rock which has had a tough time recently because most of the money it lends out is borrowed from other banks, rather than being supplied by its own savers.

Facilities Update

Posted by Dylan on December 13, 2007

So we’re in the new office for one week and its taking up a lot of my time just fixing minor issues that keep coming up:

  • Kitchen sink faucet is leaking
  • The new towel dispensers in the bathrooms were installed and new supplies had to be bought
  • Reverse Osmosis needs installing
  • Current water supplier needs canceling.
  • New office door being installed

We’re not in a big office, no wonder facilities in larger offices are a full time job.

On top of this we had a power glitch yesterday which showed that two uninterruptible power supplies (UPS) were in fact interruptible. Two servers go down and our T1 and Phone lines too. The T1 and phone lines I moved onto a second UPS in the same closet with no problems, I now need to go and buy a new UPS for the servers. Anyone know if the small UPSs by APC are worth fixing or should I just replace it with one from CostCo?

Why the Commercial Real Estate Market will Fall

Posted by Dylan on December 13, 2007

Great post over on the Seeking Alpha blog going into the underlying reasons the commercial real estate market will fall

Reggie uses some very basic CRE pricing models to show the price is out of control for the larger CRE investor. Whether this is just one market or across the board is not mentioned in the post. This is quite important as other people are saying the prices are softening but not necessarily deflating and then you have Sam Zell saying the prices have to go up because of supply and demand.

So in one day three people give three different views on the commercial real estate market.  Which one do you trust?

Be Careful What you Promote

Posted by Dylan on December 12, 2007

We received a letter from our water supplier O Water trying to upsell us to a RO (reverse osmosis) unit that also takes pods and brews coffee and stuff. Here we are sitting with 10×5 gallon bottles of water cluttering up our office and we start talking about this offer. After much discussion, instead of going for the supplier’s RO system we’ve decided to install our own. No more bottles cluttering the office. No more monthly fees. The savings in monthly fees will pay for our own unit (purchased from CostCo) within 5 months. The only ongoing costs for us are replacing the filters occasionally.

Guess the O Water should be careful what they promote.

Commercial Real Estate Slowing Down?

Posted by Dylan on December 10, 2007

Twice this weekend I read that the real estate market is slowing down. Is it true?  With so many banks having to write down heavy losses due to sub-prime lending (the latest being UBS $10 Billion) that can only put a brake on the real estate market. No good saying that commercial and residential real estate is not the same - if the banks are losing money then the credit available to the lending market is going to be depressed

Of course the whole economy is slowing down due to lower consumer spending, lower consumer spending means lower money in business’s pockets, which in turn means less investment from businesses in longer term investments, such as real estate. Lets face it if you’re the owner of a corner shop who was looking to expand, then consumer spending lowers so suddenly you’re not as profitable and your shop is not as busy. Given all that would you decide to expand? Probably not.

New Commercial Real Estate Book Available

Posted by Dylan on December 7, 2007

Atlantic Publishing have just released a new commercial real estate investing book called ‘The Commercial Real Estate Investor’s Handbook: A Step-by-Step Road Map to Financial Wealth’. As they state (and I agree) commercial real estate “Investing in real estate is one of the safest and smartest investments you can make.” Commercial real estate offers some advantages over residential real estate from an investment point of view:

  • Longer leases - usually three to five years
  • Tenants tend to be better from a owners POV i.e. pay on time, likely to have the money to pay, etc.

For more information see their blog post.

Buy the book at http://www.atlantic-pub.com/cgi-local/shopper.exe?preadd=action&key=CGC-01

If anyone buys the book, let me know if you like it.

Bribery rampant in real estate projects

Posted by Dylan on December 6, 2007

Chinese prosecutors have found high incidence of commercial bribery in infrastructure and real estate projects, most implicating the government officials in charge.

Read More at China Daily…

Russian commercial real estate market set to expand

Posted by Elaine on December 6, 2007

RBC, 05.12.2007, Moscow 19:57:40. Russia’s commercial real estate market is set to grow by 10 to 15 percent on average, experts believe.

Read More at RosBusinessConsulting…

That was the message from yesterday’s annual real estate outlook from Jackson Cross. Delaware Jackson Cross partner Pete Davisson said Office leasing was down in 2007, but not at levels that would suggest a major downturn.

Read More at The Business Ledger…

Shamil Bank, EAG form joint venture in real estate

Posted by Dylan on December 6, 2007

Shamil Bank, EAG form joint venture in real estate

Read More at MENAFN…

Shamil Bank and EAG form real estate joint venture

Posted by Marcus on December 5, 2007

Shamil Bank, a leading Islamic commercial and investment bank and member of the Ithmaar Banking Group, and Bahrain-based Ebrahim Abdulaal Group of Companies (EAG) today announced a multi-million dollar, joint venture to pursue real estate opportunities in the Kingdom of Bahrain and elsewhere in the Gulf area.

Read More at AME Info…

NEW YORK—-CapLease, Inc. , a real estate investment trust focused on single-tenant commercial real estate investments, today announced that Mr. Paul McDowell, Chief Executive Officer, will present at the 11th Annual Wachovia Global Real Estate Securities Conference in New York City on Wednesday, December 5, 2007 at 3:20 PM Eastern time.

Read More at Business Wire via Yahoo! Finance…

Who says football and real estate never mix? Former Dallas Cowboys star quarterback Roger Staubauch owns the Texas real estate services firm that has acquired Kansas City-based Glaze Commercial Real Estate Advisors.

Read More at Commercial Property News…

Staubach Co. buys Kansas City real estate firm

Posted by Elaine on December 5, 2007

The Staubach Co. has acquired Glaze Commercial Real Estate Advisors of Kansas City, Mo. Addison-based Staubach is scheduled to take over operation of Glaze Commercial at the beginning of 2008.

Read More at Dallas Morning News…

Delinquency rates rose last month on collateralised debt obligations that package together commercial real estate loans and slice them into different pieces of risk, as the outlook for the property sector continues to deteriorate.

Read More at eFinancial News…

LOS ANGELES—-The residential real estate industry could drag the commercial property sector into a downturn in 2008, and real estate investors, developers and service companies need to start preparing now for what could be a tougher business environment.

Read More at Business Wire via Yahoo! Finance…

Padding your retirement with real estate

Posted by Brenda on December 4, 2007

Question: I have a chance to pick up two ocean-front condos on the east coast of Florida for about $85,000. I was thinking of buying them in an all-cash deal with my IRA account, but I’m not sure whether you’re allowed to own real estate inside an IRA. Can I do this? - Bernard Grossman, Hallendale Beach, Florida

Read More at CNN Money…

Ras Al-Khaimah enters Indian real estate

Posted by Elaine on December 4, 2007

An investment group from the United Arab Emirates said Monday it has set up a joint venture in India that will invest $5 billion over the next five years to develop residential and commercial properties. The joint venture, Rakindo Developers Pvt. Ltd., plans to build independent townships closer to smaller Indian cities, where real estate is poised for high growth in the coming years, said …

Read More at Lexington Herald-Leader…

With the appointment of commercial real estate developer X. Cristofer Damianos to the Long Island Power Authority’s Board of Trustees, the commercial real estate community will once again have a voice at the utility.

Read More at Newsday…

A Texas real estate service company owned by Roger Staubach, the former Dallas Cowboys star quarterback, has acquired Glaze Commercial Real Estate Advisors of Kansas City.

Read More at The Kansas City Star…

The chill spreads to commercial real estate

Posted by Dylan on December 4, 2007

Credit market turmoil has slowed sales and softened prices for office buildings in Southern California. The global credit crunch that took hold of financial markets in the summer is now taking the steam out of commercial real estate.

Read More at Los Angeles Times…

In The Loop | Charlotte real estate firm eyes Columbia

Posted by Brenda on December 3, 2007

Another out-of-state commercial real estate firm has set its sights on Columbia. Trinity Capital, a Charlotte-based firm, has targeted Columbia for office and industrial acquisitions and office, industrial and mixed-use development for 2008 and 2009. The company issued a news release last month saying it would use its second real estate investment fund, Trinity Capital Value Fund II, to enter …

Read More at The State…

An Indiana-based commercial real estate developer wants to build a 650,000-square-foot wine warehouse in American Canyon for Napa-based Biagi Bros. Transportation and Warehousing.

Read More at North Bay Business Journal…

UAE's Rakeen forms real estate JV to enter India

Posted by Marcus on December 3, 2007

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - United Arab Emirates-based project development company Rakeen said on Monday it had formed a joint venture with an Indian firm to enter the booming domestic real estate sector.

Read More at Reuters via Yahoo! India News…

Charlotte real estate firm eyes Columbia

Posted by Marcus on December 3, 2007

Another out-of-state commercial real estate firm has set its sights on Columbia. Trinity Capital, a Charlotte-based firm, has targeted Columbia for office and industrial acquisitions and office, industrial and mixed-use development for 2008 and 2009. The company issued a news release last month saying it would use its second real estate investment fund, Trinity Capital Value Fund II, to enter …

Read More at The State…

Parking lots make downtown Milwaukee prime real estate

Posted by Dylan on December 3, 2007

Parking lots across downtown Milwaukee represent tens — if not hundreds — of millions of dollars in future real estate investment.

Read More at BizJournals…

F.N.B. Capital Corp. has backed the management-led buyout of a Philadelphia-area real estate research firm with a $3.5 million investment.

Read More at BizJournals…

Commercial real estate packs $1.5B punch in Mid-Tenn.

Posted by Brenda on December 3, 2007

The Middle Tennessee chapter of the National Association of Industrial and Office Properties wants the commercial real estate market to get its due.

Read More at BizJournals…