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Alex Finkelstein, Senior Real Estate Reporter

*Former Real Estate and Legal News Editor, Orlando Business Journal (1987 to 2000).

*Former Real Estate Editor, South Florida (Miami) Business Journal (1981 to 1986).

*Former Real Estate Editor, Miami Daily Review (1986 to 1987).

*Former Real Estate Editor, Pittsburgh Business Journal (1980 to 1981).

*Former Assistant Business News Editor, Daytona Beach, FL News-Journal (1979 to 1980).

*Former Investigative Reporter, Miami Herald (1955 to 1960).

*Former Copy and Page Makeup Editor, Washington, DC Star (1960 to 1973).

*Former Regional Retail Advertising Manager, Orlando, FL Sentinel (1973 to 1979).

*Former Southeast Bureau Chief and Co-Editor, Debt & Equity Newsletter, GlobeSt.com. (2000 to 2007).

*Former General News Reporter, Winnipeg (Canada) Free Press (1953 to 1955).

*Former Radio Desk News Reporter, British United Press, Montreal and Ottawa (1952 to 1953).

Current publisher, DONE DEALS, daily real estate blog.

GLOBAL COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE ROUNDUP

Posted by Alex Finkelstein 07/30/10 8:30 AM

Oak Brook, IL-based Inland Real Estate Corp. (NYSE:IRC) has acquired The Point on Clark Street, a 14-year-old, 100-percent leased shopping center in Chicago's affluent Lincoln Park neighborhood for $28.8 million or about $262 per square foot. Read More
Tourism Hit Hard as China Cleans Up Country's Worst Oil Spill

Posted by Alex Finkelstein 07/29/10 2:39 PM

Using chop sticks and their bare hands, thousands of Chinese volunteers today continue to clean up the beaches at Dalian, once ranked as China's most livable city on the northeast coast. A pipeline explosion at the Port of Dalian in Liaoning Province July 27 spilled 400,000 gallons of crude toxic oil ... Read More
Marriott Plans Flagship 'Edition' Inn on Shuttered Seville Beach Hotel Site in Miami Beach

Posted by Alex Finkelstein 07/29/10 2:36 PM

A Marriott International affiliate has picked up a prime Miami Beach hotel development site for $57.5 million -- $10 million under a now-dismissed bankruptcy court lawsuit asking price. Read More
Travel Group Asks Treasury for $500 Million Marketing Check

Posted by Alex Finkelstein 07/29/10 2:09 PM

Facing a monumental tourism decline in the Gulf of Mexico's leisure and vacation market, the United States Travel Association is asking the Treasury for $500 million in federal funding to offset the sector's financial losses following the BP oil spill in April. Read More
Florida, California, Nevada and Arizona Still Lead Nation in Year-to-date Foreclosures

Posted by Alex Finkelstein 07/29/10 8:00 AM

The melody is unending - Florida, California, Nevada and Arizona continued to lead the nation in most residential foreclosures from January through June of this year. Read More
Waikiki Merchants Suffer as Shoppers Ignore Downtown Stores

Posted by Alex Finkelstein 07/28/10 9:00 AM

Times are a-changing on the glamorous Hawaiian island of Waikiki. Waikiki leisure and vacation attractions remain vibrant but when it comes to shopping for everyday items, Read More
High-End Retail Weathering Global Recession

Posted by Alex Finkelstein 07/26/10 8:00 AM

Junior and big-box retailers are gravitating to the high-rent districts of many prominent commercial avenues and doing well, according to a new CB Richard Ellis study. Read More
GLOBAL COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE ROUNDUP

Posted by Alex Finkelstein 07/23/10 8:00 AM

Singapore's biggest sovereign wealth fund GIC (GIC: Singapore SE) plans an initial public offering of its logistics business around the fourth quarter to raise at least S$1 billion ($707 million US), ... Read More
Healthcare Trust Continues Acquisition March Through Georgia

Posted by Alex Finkelstein 07/22/10 1:27 PM

Talk about a company on the move -- Scottsdale, AZ-based Healthcare Trust of America Inc. fits the bill. The firm is a self-managed, publicly registered, non-traded real estate investment trust. Read More
Morgan Stanley Faces $5.4 Billion Loss from Key Real Estate Fund

Posted by Alex Finkelstein 07/21/10 3:46 PM

A whole big shakeout of real estate funds held by U.S. investment banks is on the table. Morgan Stanley, the biggest real estate investor on Wall Street, ... Read More
Private Equity Fund Pays $95 Million for Four Class A Office Buildings in South Florida

Posted by Alex Finkelstein 07/21/10 8:00 AM

NGP Fund V LLC, a private equity fund believed to be based in Washington, DC, has paid $95.1 million for a 196,915-square-foot, class A office building portfolio leased entirely to the federal General Services Administration, the largest landlord in the U.S. Read More
4,587-Acre Colorado Mixed-Use Site Back on the Market at Discounted Price

Posted by Alex Finkelstein 07/19/10 8:00 AM

With an estimated value in 2007 of $400 million or $8,720 per acre, a prime Northern Colorado mixed-use site is back on the market for $173 million or about $3,732 per acre. Read More
GLOBAL COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE ROUNDUP

Posted by Alex Finkelstein 07/16/10 8:00 AM

Office vacancy rates are "very high" in both Budapest and Gyor, reports London-based Companiesandmarkets.com and OfficialWire. New office space is not being absorbed, as tenants tend to prefer to renegotiate existing leases rather than to move. Read More
Blackstone Plucks Management Plum in $2-Billion-Plus Asian Fund

Posted by Alex Finkelstein 07/15/10 2:17 PM

In a deal that hasn't yet been made public, Reuters reports Blackstone Group will manage a $2-billion-plus Asian real estate fund of Bank of America-Merrill Lynch.The deal is tentatively set to close in the third quarter.Blackstone stands to earn millions... Read More
Fortress Swoops Down on Distressed Commercial Assets with $550 Million Buy

Posted by Alex Finkelstein 07/15/10 1:40 PM

New York City-based Fortress Investment Group LLP (NYSE: FIG), with $42 billion in assets, has shelled out a total $550 million to purchase CW Financial Services of Needham, MA and KK daVinci Holdings of Chuou-ku, a financial district in the center of Tokyo. Read More
Residential Foreclosures Down in First Half but Only Because Lenders OK Short Sales

Posted by Alex Finkelstein 07/15/10 8:00 AM

Numbers don't lie but they often don't tell the whole story, as Irvine, CA-based RealtyTrac acknowledged today. Residential foreclosures in the first half were down 5 percent from the last six months in 2009, Read More
General Growth Properties Adds $500 Million to Bankruptcy Recovery Pool

Posted by Alex Finkelstein 07/14/10 8:30 AM

Chicago-based General Growth Properties Inc. (NYSE:GGP), which already has enough money to easily survive its expected Chapter 11 exit in October, has received a $500 million equity investment from an unexpected source. Read More
China Bank Eager to Write Loans of $100 Million-Plus to U.S. Developers

Posted by Alex Finkelstein 07/13/10 12:40 PM

If you had any doubt that China isn't the paymaster of the globe, Industrial & Commercial Bank of China is clearing away the skepticism. The bank, China's largest, has found a new lending niche. Read More
China Property Bubble Headed for Soft Landing, Says Standard Chartered Executive

Posted by Alex Finkelstein 07/12/10 8:30 AM

When Standard Chartered Bank speaks, developers and investors in Asia, Africa and the Middle East listen closely. China's property prices are likely to stabilize over coming months ... Read More
LeBron James Excitement Triggers Near Sellout of Miami Heat Season Tickets

Posted by Alex Finkelstein 07/09/10 8:45 AM

While the question of how much greater Miami will benefit economically with the arrival of NBA superstar LeBron James at Miami Heat headquarters is still unknown, one related factor is now known conclusively. Read More
GLOBAL RETAIL REAL ESTATE ROUNDUP

Posted by Alex Finkelstein 07/09/10 8:30 AM

Don't look for a retail real estate rebound in the second half. It isn't coming, according to a growing list of store closings announced in the first six months of 2010. Read More
Washington Harbour Sold Again, This Time for About $250 Million

Posted by Alex Finkelstein 07/08/10 1:28 PM

It's déjà vu once more for the two-building, 532,601-square-foot Washington Harbour office and retail complex facing the Potomac River in Washington, DC. Read More
Italian Hotelier Elisabetta Gucci in a Rush to Build 40 Boutique Hotels Over 15 Years

Posted by Alex Finkelstein 07/08/10 11:40 AM

Reuters reports luxury hotelier Elisabetta Gucci is planning 40 hotels over the next 15 years in the Middle East, Far East and South America and aims to open its first hotel in Dubai at the end of 2010. Read More
New York Cracks Down on Mortgage-Rescue Scams

Posted by Alex Finkelstein 07/07/10 8:30 AM

A total 182 so-called foreclosure rescue companies with customers in New York have been sent cease-and-desist letters from the office of New York Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo, DSNews.com reports. Read More
Prison Inmates Con Fed Out of $9 Million in Homebuyer Tax Credits

Posted by Alex Finkelstein 07/06/10 8:00 AM

With nothing to lose and time on their hands, more than 1,200 inmates in U.S. prisons, including 241 serving life sentences, cashed in on the federal government's home purchase tax incentive. Read More
Fannie Mae Gets Tough With Walk-Away Mortgage Defaulters

Posted by Alex Finkelstein 07/05/10 8:01 AM

The good times are gone for residential mortgage defaulters in the U.S. Fannie Mae has just changed the rules of the game for people who walk from their home loans, Read More
GLOBAL COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE ROUNDUP

Posted by Alex Finkelstein 07/02/10 8:00 AM

Manhattan properties are still enticing foreign buyers, according to The Corcoran Group of New York City. "We thought our foreign buyers would flee, but they haven't as yet," Pamela Liebman, president and CEO of The Corcoran Group ... Read More
iStar Unloads 32-Property, 11.3-Million SF Office and Industrial Portfolio for $1.35 Billion

Posted by Alex Finkelstein 07/01/10 3:49 PM

In what is believed to be the largest commercial deal of its kind this year, New York City-based iStar Financial Inc. (NYSE: SFI) has sold a nationwide portfolio of 32 corporate tenant-leased office and industrial properties totaling 11.3 million square feet of net rentable space Read More
Home Buyer Tax Credit Extended to Sept. 30

Posted by Alex Finkelstein 07/01/10 3:08 PM

After weeks of bickering, Congress extended the $8,000 tax credit for first-time homebuyers and the $6,500 tax credit for second-time buyers by three months to Sept. 30. Read More
RECI Sees Some Light at End of Realty Capital Market Tunnel

Posted by Alex Finkelstein 07/01/10 8:00 AM

The nation's realty capital markets continue to show signs of recovery, reports The Real Estate Capital Institute of Chicago. New guidelines and creative funding avenues are showing up in the realty capital pipelines, Read More
Russian Spies Had U.S. Real Estate Connections

Posted by Alex Finkelstein 06/30/10 10:00 AM

This is a tale of The Gang That Couldn't Shoot Straight. They couldn't shoot straight because nobody so far has found anything they stole. Read More
Foreclosed Homes Account for 31% of First-Quarter Sales, RealtyTrac Finds

Posted by Alex Finkelstein 06/30/10 12:00 AM

Buyers took advantage of the foreclosed-home market in the first quarter, racking up 31% of all sales ... Read More
Orlando Builders Buying Up Bargain-Priced Lots for Projected Home Buying Revival

Posted by Alex Finkelstein 06/29/10 8:00 AM

(ORLANDO, FL) -- Do the housing numbers lie in metro Orlando, one of the worst foreclosure-laden and mortgage-stricken markets in the U.S.? Read More
Miami's Fontainebleau Sorrento Sells Last 25 Condos for Fire-Sale Price of $7.2 Million

Posted by Alex Finkelstein 06/28/10 8:00 AM

Without fanfare or hype, the last 25 luxury condos at the 18-story, 311-unit, two-year-old Fontainebleau Sorrento in Miami Beach have been sold for $7.2 million ... Read More
GLOBAL COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE MARKET ROUNDUP

Posted by Alex Finkelstein 06/25/10 8:00 AM

At $57 million, It was supposed to have been the world's most expensive apartment deal. But Hong Kong can no longer boast of having that attainment. Read More
Sale of Chicago's Second Biggest Office Tower in the Works

Posted by Alex Finkelstein 06/24/10 12:09 PM

KBS Realty Advisors LLC of Newport Beach, CA has agreed to buy the 1.3-million-square-foot, 60-story, 95%-leased 300 North La Salle office tower from Houston, TX-based Hines Interests LP for $625 million or about $480 per square foot, Read More
Forest City Enterprises Loses $15.6 Million in First Quarter But Still has $239 Million in Cash on Balance Sheet

Posted by Alex Finkelstein 06/24/10 8:02 AM

Forest City Enterprises Inc. (NYSE:FCEA) and (NYSE:FCEB), lost $15.6 million in the first quarter ... Read More
Buffet Trades Jabs with Federal Prober on Bond Ratings Agencies

Posted by Alex Finkelstein 06/23/10 8:30 AM

Few financial wizards can best Nebraska billionaire Warren Buffet in a money-related debate, but Phil Angelides may be one who came close. Read More
Banks' Profits Shrink as They Write Off $436 Billion in Bad Loans Since 2008, Moody's Reports

Posted by Alex Finkelstein 06/22/10 8:00 AM

Moody's Investors Service sees another year of red ink of the profit-and-loss statements of many U.S. banks. The New York City-based bond ratings agency gives the banking industry a negative outlook for 2010 ... Read More
Fed's Ongoing Crackdown on Mortgage Fraud Nets $147 Million in Recovered Funds

Posted by Alex Finkelstein 06/21/10 10:00 AM

The U.S. Justice Department's three-month crackdown on mortgage fraud has netted the government $147 million in recovered funds Read More
GLOBAL COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE MARKET ROUNDUP

Posted by Alex Finkelstein 06/18/10 9:30 AM

Cofinance of Hackensack, NJ, the U.S. subsidiary of commercial real estate developer Cofinance Group SA of Luxembourg, paid $24.76 million in two transactions to buy the Youngmann Plaza at 746-900 Young St., Read More
'Smart' Office Building in Boston Area Sold for $40.5 Million

Posted by Alex Finkelstein 06/18/10 9:00 AM

Kennedy Associates of Seattle, WA and Boston-based Corcoran Jennison have joint ventured in the $40.5 million sale of a two-year-old, so-called 'smart' office building in metro Boston. Read More
U.S. Has Highest Commercial Real Estate Default Rate since 1992, Analyst Reports

Posted by Alex Finkelstein 06/17/10 11:35 AM

As predicted, 2010 will mark the highest default rate among commercial real estate owners since at least 1992, according to two separate new studies by New York City-based analysts. Read More
56-Day BP Oil Spill Having Major Affect on Bankers, Developers and Hoteliers

Posted by Alex Finkelstein 06/16/10 2:56 PM

The 56-day-old BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico is beginning to haunt the nation's residential, commercial and vacation real estate markets. Read More
LaSalle Plans to Buy $4 Billion of Asian Properties by 2011

Posted by Alex Finkelstein 06/16/10 8:00 AM

LaSalle Investment Management, the fund arm of commercial real estate broker Jones Lang LaSalle Inc., sees a money-making opportunity in Asia right now. Read More
Robert Canter Calls Publicized Commercial Real Estate Recovery 'Pure Propaganda'

Posted by Alex Finkelstein 06/15/10 8:31 AM

It isn't often that a member of the tribe stands up and gets a weighty issue of his mind. But that is what Robert Canter has done. His credentials are noteworthy. Read More
South Koreans Pay $333 Million for Trophy San Francisco Office Tower in Biggest Commercial Deal in Three Years

Posted by Alex Finkelstein 06/14/10 8:30 AM

South Korea investors know a good deal when they see one. And they saw one in 333 Market Street, a 33-story, 100-percent-leased trophy office tower in San Francisco's financial district. Read More
Trophy Southern California Shopping Center Sold for $94.5 Million

Posted by Alex Finkelstein 06/11/10 9:30 AM

The Shoppes at Chino Hills, a two-year-old, open-air, 388,000-square-foot lifestyle center located in an affluent Southern California market, is under new ownership today. Read More
GLOBAL COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE ROUNDUP

Posted by Alex Finkelstein 06/11/10 8:30 AM

South Korea's National Pension Service has signed a purchase and sale agreement for Sony Center Berlin, a 1.23 million-square-foot (115,000 square meters), Class A property, according to PropertyFundsWorldwide.com. Read More
Bargain Properties Driving Japan's Commercial Real Estate Market

Posted by Alex Finkelstein 06/10/10 12:42 PM

Japan's commercial real estate prices may be nearing the end of a decline, reports PropertyWire.com. "With prices for commercial property at or near rock-bottom, Japan's real estate market is ripe for investment," ... Read More
Residential Foreclosures Down 3% in May

Posted by Alex Finkelstein 06/10/10 8:00 AM

Good news on the residential foreclosures front: They're down. The May total was 3% lower than in April, according to the newest tabulations by Irvine, CA-based RealtyTrac. Read More
China's Hot Housing Market Cools - But Has the Bubble Burst?

Posted by Alex Finkelstein 06/09/10 8:00 AM

Housing sales in numerous Chinese cities are down 40 percent from where they were six months ago, according to a new analysis by Soufun.com, Read More
Sternlicht's Starwood Capital Buys Major Stake in Hersha Hospitality

Posted by Alex Finkelstein 06/08/10 9:29 AM

Two of the best-known names in the real estate and hotel industries have married. Starwood Capital Group of Greenwich, CT has purchased a 49.9 percent ownership stake in Philadelphia-based Hersha Hospitality Management. Read More
Barclays Unloads U.S. Mortgage Servicing Unit to Ocwen for $1.3 Billion

Posted by Alex Finkelstein 06/07/10 8:00 AM

London-based Barclays is out of the U.S. mortgage servicing business. The international banking conglomerate has agreed to sell HomEq Servicing, its U.S. mortgage servicing arm, to Ocwen Loan Servicing, LLC. a division of Ocwen Financial Corp., West Palm Beach, FLOcwen... Read More
Grubb & Ellis Buys Strategic Medical Property in Oklahoma for $11 Million

Posted by Alex Finkelstein 06/04/10 9:00 AM

In an all-cash deal, Grubb & Ellis Healthcare REIT II bought the four-year-old, 41-bed Muskogee Long-Term Acute Care Hospital in Muskogee, OK for $11 million or about $297 per square foot. Read More
U.S. CONDO MARKET ROUNDUP

Posted by Alex Finkelstein 06/04/10 9:00 AM

The auction route is the fastest highway for most lenders sitting on mountains of repossessed condominium and single-family homes, according to Robert Friedman, chairman, Real Estate Disposition Corp., Irvine, Ca. Read More
As Oil Spill Nears Florida Coast, Governor Charlie Crist Expected to Issue Blanket State of Emergency

Posted by Alex Finkelstein 06/03/10 1:35 PM

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission this morning identified the Louisiana oil spill slick six miles from the Navarre Beach fishing pier in Northwest Florida. Read More
Developers' Bonds in China Turn Sour as Investors Demand Higher Yields

Posted by Alex Finkelstein 06/02/10 12:47 PM

Bonds sold recently by developers in China are not generating the yield most global investors anticipated - a sign that some developers may have trouble meeting near-future debt payments, industry analysts speculate. Read More
Real Estate Trends Offer Mixed Signals for Florida Economy, Says NAI Realvest's Livingston

Posted by Alex Finkelstein 05/31/10 4:16 PM

George Livingston, chairman emeritus of NAI Realvest in Maitland, FL and a 30-year veteran real estate and investment analyst, says current real estate trends offer mixed signals for the Florida economy. Read More
Colliers Predicts Retail Vacancies Worldwide Will Start Improving by Year End

Posted by Alex Finkelstein 05/31/10 4:07 PM

Boston-based Colliers International is sticking its neck out and predicting retail real estate worldwide will be in a stronger position as the industry approaches mid-year. Read More
3 New York City Hedge Funds Buy Extended Stay America for $3.93 Billion

Posted by Alex Finkelstein 05/29/10 8:00 AM

The year-old live-or-die saga of Extended Stay America (ESA) has ended with the Spartanburg, SC hotel chain in the ownership hands today of three major New York City-based hedge funds, according to HotelNewsNow.com.The funds are Centerbridge Partners, L.P., Paulson &... Read More
GLOBAL HOTEL MARKET ROUNDUP

Posted by Alex Finkelstein 05/28/10 8:00 AM

Paris-based Accor SA plans to sell off 450 hotels between now and 2013 as part of an ongoing portfolio restructuring, the company says in a prepared statement. Read More
Five-Year-Old Washington, DC Suburban Apartments Sold for $54.3 Million

Posted by Alex Finkelstein 05/27/10 11:37 AM

Riverside Station Apts., Woodbridge, VA. The sale of five-year-old Riverside Station Apartments this week in the Washington, DC suburb of Woodbridge, VA proves again that older multifamily properties hold their value if properly maintained.Cleveland-based Associated Estates Realty Corp. paid Omaha,... Read More
BP Oil Hands Florida $25 Million Check for Tourism Promotion

Posted by Alex Finkelstein 05/27/10 8:00 AM

BP Plc (NYSE: BP) has opened its wallet again and given the state of Florida another $25 million check to spend on tourism advertising over the next two to three months. Read More
Tourists Desert Bangkok Hotels Amid Civil Unrest

Posted by Alex Finkelstein 05/26/10 3:37 PM

It is a hotelier's worst nightmare. Tourists and travelers canceling reservations right and left. Bookings vanishing over night. Occupancy plummeting almost 100% at some lodgings. Read More
Boston Properties Quits Investment Race for $100 Million One World Trade Center

Posted by Alex Finkelstein 05/26/10 12:36 PM

A three-horse investment race for the $100 million, under-construction One World Trade Center in Downtown Manhattan just became a two-horse competition. Read More
Kuwait's Real Estate Markets Need Oiling, Reports DTZ

Posted by Alex Finkelstein 05/26/10 12:24 PM

Kuwait may have a lock on the world's oil and gas reserves, but when it comes to its own real estate industries, the Middle Eastern country needs someone to prime the pump, according to a new analysis released by DTZ, an international real estate advisor. Read More
U.S. Hoteliers Will Grow RevPAR This Year But Bottom Line Will Shrink Again, PKF Forecasts

Posted by Alex Finkelstein 05/25/10 12:00 PM

There is good news and not-so-good news for U.S. hoteliers today. A new industry survey by Atlanta, GA-based PKF Hospitality Research (PKF-HR) finds U.S. hotels should enjoy a 1.7 percent growth in RevPAR in 2010, ... Read More
Marriott Plans China Blitz; Calls Country 'World's Most Compelling Tourism Market'

Posted by Alex Finkelstein 05/25/10 11:46 AM

Marriott is on a roll in China. Bethesda, MD-based Marriott International (NYSE:MAR) has signed management agreements for seven additional hotels in China ... Read More
First International Commercial Airport Built in Last 15 Years Opens on Florida's Gulf Coast

Posted by Alex Finkelstein 05/24/10 1:14 PM

The St. Joe Co. (NYSE:JOE) today is at least a million dollars richer today with the opening of the Northwest Florida Beaches International Airport at West Bay, FL on Florida's Gulf Coast. Read More
Florida's Equity One Enters Northern California Retail Market With $600 Million Joint Venture

Posted by Alex Finkelstein 05/24/10 11:20 AM

Without having to construct a single shopping center, North Miami Beach, FL-based Equity One Inc. will shortly be entering one of the country's strongest retail markets - Northern California. Read More
$72 Million Deal for Chicago Loop Office Tower Closes on Time

Posted by Alex Finkelstein 05/24/10 9:00 AM

Chicago-based Prime Group Realty Trust (NYSE:PGEPRB) has closed on the $72.25 million sale of the 39-story 180 North LaSalle Street office tower in Chicago's prime Loop district. Read More
CB Richard Ellis Sees Signs of Rental Improvement in Global Office Markets

Posted by Alex Finkelstein 05/24/10 8:00 AM

Landlords and office building investors around the globe are breathing easier today after a special report by CB Richard Ellis Inc. indicates rents are starting to rise again in some markets. Read More
It's Full Speed Ahead on Vegas Casino Operator Adelson's Macau Development

Posted by Alex Finkelstein 05/21/10 1:10 PM

Las Vegas casino operator Sheldon Adelson hit the jackpot today. Adelson announced he has the $1.75 billion needed to start construction on the first 3,700-room phase of a planned 6,000-room hotel, ... Read More
Vornado Runs Loan Default Tab to $400 Million

Posted by Alex Finkelstein 05/21/10 10:00 AM

Vornado, a big name in national and international commercial real estate spheres, has defaulted on its third property. That brings the delinquent loan total for the New York City-based REIT to about $400 million, according to findings by the Wall Street Journal. Read More
Madison Marquette Plucks Prime Retail Asset in Columbia

Posted by Alex Finkelstein 05/21/10 9:00 AM

Madison Marquette is living right. The Washington, DC developer-investor has acquired a prime 10-acre retail center in neighboring Columbia, MD for $7.2 million or $720,000 per acre. On a per-square-foot basis, that comes to $16.53. Read More
U.S. CONDO MARKET ROUNDUP

Posted by Alex Finkelstein 05/21/10 8:00 AM

It's a case that could result in new laws being written for the condominium development and ownership market in New York State, industry sources tell the Wall Street Journal. Read More
Judge Rules Tribe Doesn't Have to Repay $50 Million Casino Debt

Posted by Alex Finkelstein 05/20/10 4:36 PM

Talk about legal loopholes. An American Indian tribe in Wisconsin found one and now isn't repaying a $50 million casino debt to a California lender. Read More
New Online Survey Claims 59% of Mortgagees Wouldn't Walk Away from Their Homes

Posted by Alex Finkelstein 05/20/10 1:00 PM

A new online survey claims 59% of debt-ridden homeowners polled say they would not walk away from their properties even though behind in monthly payments. Read More
MGM Mirage, Perini Point Fingers at Each Other in $490 Million CityCenter Lawsuit

Posted by Alex Finkelstein 05/19/10 3:47 PM

The he-said, she-said version of the $490 million civil lawsuit filed in March by Perini Building Co. against Las Vegas-based MGM Mirage is on a new lap. Read More
Europe's Property Investors Wary as Governments Start to Write New Financial Rules

Posted by Alex Finkelstein 05/19/10 3:39 PM

This hasn't been a good day for Europe's big-name real estate investors. Like government around the world, European governments are battening down the hatches on budget deficits and financial industry overhauls ... Read More
Bank of Scotland Takes a Bath on Stalled Luxury Home Project in Hawaii

Posted by Alex Finkelstein 05/19/10 2:02 PM

Surfers aren't the only ones getting wet in Hawaii these days. Bank of Scotland PLC, a British bank that financed a boom-era, 1,500-acre luxury golf-course community in the Hawaiian city of Kailua-Kona, Read More
Trophy Home Site in Hong Kong Sells for $233 Million

Posted by Alex Finkelstein 05/19/10 1:05 PM

Hong Kong's red-hot real estate market isn't cooling off. A prime residential construction site, believed to be an acre in size, has been sold at auction for $233 million. The record price equates to $8,717 per square foot. Read More
NBA Finals in Orlando Could Generate $5 Million in National Ad Blitz, Predicts Stirling Sotheby's Soderstrom

Posted by Alex Finkelstein 05/19/10 8:00 AM

It may not turn out to be another $3 million pay day as it was in 2009 for Downtown Orlando retailers, hoteliers and vendors, ... Read More
Green Building Certifications to Cover 53 Billion Square Feet of Commercial and Residential Space by 2020, Forecasts Pike Research

Posted by Alex Finkelstein 05/18/10 2:25 PM

Green building certification programs in the U.S. are beginning to translate to higher market values for structures in all commercial and residential categories, according to a new study by Boulder, CO-based Pike Research. Read More
Skanska Constructing $258 Million Palisades Tunnel for New Jersey Transit

Posted by Alex Finkelstein 05/18/10 1:16 PM

Stockholm-based Skanska (STO:SKAB) will earn $52 million or 20 percent of the $258 million Palisades Tunnel it is constructing for the New Jersey Transit. The project has a December 2013 completion date. Read More
Morgan Stanley Going After Private Equity Funds With War Chest of $585 Million

Posted by Alex Finkelstein 05/18/10 8:30 AM

The realty capital market in the U.S. is back on track. As an example, Morgan Stanley Alternative Investment Partners (MSIM) announced in New York today it had raised $585 million for a new Global Secondary Opportunities Fund. Read More
Italian Hotel Markets Enjoying New Traveler Surge

Posted by Alex Finkelstein 05/17/10 5:17 PM

Occupancy is up but average daily rates remain down in Italy's lodging industry, according to the latest data from STR Global. Still, that's a welcome change from 2009 data, the research group reports from London. Read More
Chinese Drywall Maker Settles With Beazer; More Settlements Coming With Other Builders

Posted by Alex Finkelstein 05/17/10 1:10 PM

Germany-based Knauf Plasterboard Tianjin Co., known in the industry as KPT and facing 200 federal court lawsuits in the U.S., has settled a multi-million-dollar suit with Atlanta-based Beazer Homes USA, the Dow-Jones Newswire reports. Read More
Korea Housing Market Bubble Ready to Burst, Insiders Warn

Posted by Alex Finkelstein 05/17/10 10:49 AM

There is trouble today in River City, my friends, and it isn't in Gary, Indiana this time. It's in Seoul, the capital of Korea. The Republic's housing bubble is about to burst, warn local economist and insiders. Read More
8 Big Banks, 3 Credit Rating Agencies Under Investigation for Misleading Investors

Posted by Alex Finkelstein 05/17/10 8:27 AM

Eight big American and European banks and three U.S. credit-rating agencies are under investigation today by at least three separate state and federal law enforcement groups ... Read More
GLOBAL RETAIL REAL ESTATE ROUNDUP

Posted by Alex Finkelstein 05/14/10 8:00 AM

Tucson Business reports plans for six million square feet of new shopping center space in the Tucson region are on hold as the economic recession's racking of the retail sector continues. Read More
Clearview Hotel Trust Plans $375 Million IPO

Posted by Alex Finkelstein 05/13/10 1:34 PM

Sensing a rebound in the lodging industry, Clearview Hotel Trust of Newport Beach, CA has completed a Securities and Exchange Commission filing for an initial public offering of up to $375 million (USD). Read More
Park Avenue Retail Building Commands Price of $2,023 per SF

Posted by Alex Finkelstein 05/13/10 12:22 PM

A prime 43,005-square-foot New York City retail building has changed hands for $8.7 million or $2,023 per square foot. Marcus & Millichap Real Estate Investment Services arranged the sale of 407 Park Ave., a retail building fully leased to Stefano Ricci, ... Read More
Proposed Hedge Fund Tax Could Hurt Property Developers, ICSC Warns Congress

Posted by Alex Finkelstein 05/13/10 10:56 AM

It's an accounting tool called "carried interest" that developers use as the return for shouldering the risks and liabilities associated with real estate projects, ... Read More
April Home Foreclosures Down 9% but Bank Repos Set New Monthly Record, RealtyTrac Says

Posted by Alex Finkelstein 05/13/10 8:00 AM

The numbers look good but the details behind them paint a different home foreclosure picture for April and the rest of the year, reports Irvine, CA-based RealtyTrac. Read More
Fannie Mae Has Hand Out Again After Losing $13 Billion in First Quarter

Posted by Alex Finkelstein 05/12/10 5:34 PM

It's getting to sound like a broken record over at 3900 Wisconsin Avenue Northwest, the Washington, DC home of Fannie Mae (NASDAQ:FNM). Fannie Lost $13.1 Billion In the first quarter and says it needs another $8.4 billion infusion from taxpayers to survive. Read More
Qatar Pays $2.2 Billion for London's Historic Harrods

Posted by Alex Finkelstein 05/11/10 1:35 PM

Harrods, the world's most recognized department store, has new owners today. Qatar Holding LLC paid the family trust of Mohamed Al-Fayed $2.2 billion (1.5 billion pounds) for the 161-year-old, one-million-square-foot (90,000 square meters) London retail landmark. Read More
Fitch Cites Brookfield's Strong Liquidity in Pending Deal with General Growth Properties

Posted by Alex Finkelstein 05/11/10 1:13 PM

Fitch Ratings expects Toronto-based Brookfield Asset Management (NYSE/TSX/Euronext: BAM) to syndicate part of a proposed $6.5 billion recapitalization of General Growth Properties (NYSE:GGP).Brookfield's investment actions will have no impact on its current bond ratings, the New York City-based agency said.Brookfield's... Read More
Industrial Leasing Market Continues to Bleed in First Quarter

Posted by Alex Finkelstein 05/11/10 12:47 PM

The industrial leasing market, in bad shape for the past three years, may start to turn around in 2011, estimates Bob Bach, senior vice president and chief economist at Grubb & Ellis Co. Read More