Tag Archives: Real Estate Investment

Headquartered in California, KBS Realty Advisors is expanding its Dallas office with the addition of a new SVP of asset management, Ken Robertson. A real estate investment and management executive with 20 years' experience, Robertson will oversee the Dallas/Fort Worth portfolio. Prior to joining KBS, Robertson was president and founder of TR Realty Partners in California, and VP of the Staubach Company.

Lennar Corporation recently announced that its Rialto Capital subsidiary has completed the first closing of a real estate investment fund that will target REOs and other non-performing properties and mortgage assets. Rialto raised $300 million for the fund, of which Lennar itself committed $75 million. The fund will extend the Miami-based homebuilder's buying power for distressed real estate and mortgage debt for the next three years.

Clayton Holdings now offers loan administration and asset management services to investors in small balance commercial real estate loans via its Quantum Servicing unit. Quantum's commercial servicing division will primarily handle non-performing commercial loans - including acquisition, development, and construction (ADC); multi-family; and shopping center assets - valued at $5 million or less. Clayton says the division is already servicing approximately 6,000 small balance loans.

According to Jones Lang LaSalle, the majority of the commercial real estate (CRE) industry can expect a commercial comeback in 2011. The economic recovery has relied on government stimulus and monetary policy but the results have been tepid at best. JLL says 2011 will be the year the private sector takes the baton and starts to drive growth. The company predicts investment transaction volume will increase by 36 percent, apartments will top the ""hot list"" for investors, and the hotel sector will rebound more quickly than expected.

Citigroup Inc. has found a buyer for its real estate investment management group, Citi Property Investors (CPI). Apollo Global Management says one of its affiliates has completed the acquisition of the Citi investment unit. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Citigroup has been selling off various assets and businesses to shore up its operations and help repay the $45 billion in took in bailout money from the federal government. CPI had assets under management of over $3 billion as of June 30.

Jones Lang LaSalle, a financial and professional services firm specializing in real estate, has added two new executives to its real estate investment banking practice in Southern California and Houston. Bob Morey joins the firm's Los Angeles office as an EVP, and Ross Cannizaro was hired to the firm's Houston office as a VP.

The only national radio talk show devoted to commercial real estate, ""Commercial Real Estate Show,"" launched October 2 on CREshow.com and in Atlanta on Biz 1190 AM (WAFS). The weekly show is geared toward business owners, investors, property owners, lenders, and people in businesses related to commercial real estate. It highlights news and market updates, and features industry guests discussing a weekly topic, such as commercial loan workouts.

Commercial real estate fundamentals are still ailing from the recession and lack clear signs of near-term improvement. As a result, investors remain focused on core assets and proven markets, according to the third quarter findings of an investor survey by PricewaterhouseCoopers. The report highlights an improved lending environment and reveals that with a limited number of quality offerings to absorb all the pent-up capital, competition is strong among buyers of top-rated assets.

Arizona-based Sand Capital recently announced the company's acquisition of more than $100 million in distressed debt and REO properties. The company says the economic conditions present in the market for the last two years have created a once-in-a-quarter-century opportunity. Sand Capital has been acquiring commercial, residential, office, and industrial real estate assets since November 2008, has added 1.2 million square feet to its portfolio.

Fannie Mae has conducted a poll of both homeowners and renters to gauge consumers' attitudes toward housing in the U.S. The results indicate that Americans have become more cautious about buying a home, though most believe the market has bottomed out. Rents are expected to increase more than home prices, and Fannie says mortgage borrowers, and even underwater borrowers, are less discouraged about homeownership than delinquent borrowers and renters.