MANASSAS, VA-Pebblebrook Hotel Trust buys the Hotel Palomar for $58 million. Hersha Hospitality Trust has entered into a $74 million agreement to acquire a site at 52nd Street and Third Avenue where a 205-room Hilton Garden Inn is being developed. Summit Hotel Properties closed on a 1,043-room portfolio of Hyatt hotels for $87.4 million.
Then there is the sale of the Comfort Suites here for $7.3 million. While it may not be as headline-making as the other trades, it is still part of a larger trend in the hospitality industry: deals are getting done in a rush before the end of the year.
2013, of course, signals the start of a period of tax and policy uncertainty. Indeed, many buyers and sellers of commercial real estate are scrambling to close transactions by yearend for that reason. The activity is more noticeable in the hotel space because of the relatively slow pace of transactions in recent months.
The buyer is a regional multi-property owner. The hotel generated nearly 20 offers, according to Lee Hunter, chief operating officer of Hunter Hotels, which was the adviser on the sale of the 138-room Comfort Suites. It is located at 7350 Williamson Blvd., just off Interstate 66.
But the pressure to close a transaction before the end of the year was another reason for the bidding, he says in a prepared statement. "We're seeing a flurry of activity from hotel owners who want to complete sales before any potential changes take place in tax rates," said Hunter.
Not that sales will cease on December 31. The fundamentals that are fueling sales now will still be in place, and Hunter at least, is predicting a strong 2013. "We're also working with a substantial number of owners who plan to sell in the first and second quarters," he said.
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