Commercial Real Estate Week in Review

Week in Review for February 25 – March 2:

- Morningstar analysts are ambivalent about multifamily REITs' long-term outlook, despite current favorable conditions in the apartment sector.

- General Growth Properties (GGP) buys 11 Sears locations from Sears Holdings (SHLD), including locations in Florida, Utah, and Iowa. Perhaps most importantly to GGP, the deal included a Sears store at the high-performing Ala Moana Center in Honolulu.

- Also in Honolulu, Pacific Office Properties Trust (PCE) has sold its First Insurance Center property to Senior Housing Properties Trust (SNH) for $70.5 million. The deal is expected to close on June 30th.

- The National Association of Business Economics (NABE) predicts overall economic growth in 2012, including gradual improvements in employment, home construction, and spending.

- The Dubai-based owners of the five-star Mandarin Oriental in Manhattan reach a $175 million refinancing deal with the Bank of China. 

- U.K. and Central Europe commercial real estate fund manager First Property plans to launch a new fund in the United Kingdom. The firm's previous fund boasts annual returns above 6.4%.

- Investors gain new confidence in U.S. asset-backed securities (including CMBS), with current ABS on the market totaling $20.2 billion–the highest since before the '08 financial crisis.

- Digital Realty Trust (DLR) acquires a data center and office campus outside Dallas, Texas for $123 million.

- New York City's CRE market faces a huge influx of new office property in 2013, when developers are expected to complete One World Trade Center, 4 World Trade Center, and 51 Astor Place. About 6 million square feet of office property is expected to come online in New York City, the most in a single year since 1989.

- The U.S. Justice Department is investigating allegations of Libor manipulation along with law enforcement and regulatory agencies in the U.K., Japan, and Canada.

#CRE #finance #economy