Goverment Leases Additional Space in the Pearl

Some would call it a benefit of the government stimulus program, others would call it another example of government waste. As a result of the renovation of the Edith Green-Wendal Wyatt federal office building, the government is leasing an additional 19,000 feet of class A office space. It’s one thing to spend $133M on a renovation that is more than the replacement cost for the whole building, it’s another thing to sign a long term lease for class A office space. The government leased the space for the Indian Health Services agency at the MachineWorks building, a Class A office space at 1414 N.W. Northrup St., in the Pearl District. Great for the owners of the building, a premium cost for the taxpayers.

Betting on Bad Debt Becoming a Growing Investment Play

Everyone keeps waiting for the shoe to drop on commercial real estate, and in some asset classes and locations, the bid ask spreads have narrowed enough for transactions to start happening. Lot of capital is out there waiting for things to break loose.

Read Complete Article Here<<<<<

Obama Plans to Expand Some Small-Business Loans

From the very beginning of this financial crisis I’ve been asking why isn’t SBA playing a larger role in helping small businesses survive and pull themseleves out of this crisis? Well it appears that the White House is finally getting serious about helping small business. The president is reportedly getting ready to announce increased lending to SBA to help small businesses get financing. One potential impact for commercial lending is raising the amount a business can borrow from the current limit of $350,000 to $1,000,000. They are particullarly targeting owner occupied commercial loans. Read Complete Article Here >>>>>>

Office Market Showing Some Net Absorption in Some Markets

All though there are positive signs for the office market, particularly amongst markets in the Northeast,  on the West Coast, markets like  Orange County California posted negative net absorption of 1 million square feet; and San Francisco, 900,000 square feet. Washington, Oregon and California combined had negative net absorption of about 2.1 million square feet. Read Complete Article Here <<<<<<<<<

This makes me want to vomit. This involves the building that we the tax payers are spending $133M to remodel and make environment friendly. That’s more than it would cost to build a new building at the same location. To make things worst they are moving the federal employees from this building into new class A office space, permanently! Read Complete Article Here <<<<<<<

How Does The Government Withdraw Stimulus Support for Housing Market

After the housing bubble burst, government-sponsored entities Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac stepped in to pick up the pieces. Both have been under government conservatorships since 2008. But when will the government be able to safely extract itself from the process? Standard & Poor’s Director Vandana Sharma provides a comprehensive look at a complex situation, including all of the obstacles associated with attracting private sector capital.  Access the Podcast Here

One Main Place Sells for $57M

The sale of One Main Place is the third major commercial real estate transaction in the last 2 months. It’s selling price of $57M was a 17% reduction from it’s last sold price of $69M back in 2006. This transaction will give investors a better feel for commercial real estate in the CBD. Read Complete Article Here >>>>>>>

Commercial Real Estate a Buy

Here are some numbers we reported yesterday from Trepp, a leading provider of CMBS and commercial mortgage information and analytics:

• Commercial MBS delinquencies rise 502 percent from a year ago to 6.07 percent.
• Hotel CMBS delinquencies jump 900 percent to nearly 14% of all loans in default.

Those are just a few ridiculous stats that I need to throw out to preface today’s premise that commercial real estate is a buy. Read Complete Article Here >>>>

Grubb & Ellis calls Portland a top Market for Commercial Real Estate

Portland is one of the nation’s best markets for long-term investment in commercial real estate in all four major asset classes — office, industrial, retail and multifamily residential.

According to a forecast released Monday by Grubb & Ellis Co. (NYSE: GBE), the commercial real estate industry won’t begin to rebound until 2011, but economists anticipate the declines posted in 2009 will ease in 2010. Read Complete Article Here >>>>

TMT project remains stalled

Construction was supposed to resume in early 2010 on Park Avenue West, the stalled office tower that has come to symbolize the real estate economy in Portland.

With the new year just a week away, it remains unclear if owner TMT Development can secure the financing it needs to complete the $150 million project at Southwest Park Avenue and Yamhill Street. Read Complete Story Here