One of the biggest debates going on in Washington today centers on if the government should create another round of stimulus, thereby increasing spending to stimulate the economy versus a focus on deficit reduction.
While the first half of 2010 showed a significant increase in investment sales activity, the balance of the year should see volume increase at an even greater rate. We will look at why this is likely to be the case.
The investment sales market has been steadily improving over the last few quarters, as fundamentals begin to improve and economic recovery, while sluggish, is upon us. With regard to fundamentals, we have seen rent concessions evaporating and occupancy rates improving. The economy is moving in a generally positive direction but is having difficulty finding momentum as employment growth is well below expectation and last week it was reported that consumer spending experienced a decline…
Commercial real estate markets across the country are overleveraged. It is estimated that for the next several years, approximately $350 billion of commercial debt will mature annually, much of which will have difficulty finding replacement leverage given the reductions in value that we have seen coupled...
  The European Central Bank is the central bank for Europe's single currency, the "euro". The euro was first used in 1999 at which time there were 11 member nations in the European Union. Today, there are 16 countries which are members. The credit crisis we have experienced in the U.S. was not...
  As we have discussed in several previous StreetWise columns, the distressed asset pipeline, which has been clogged for nearly two years, is beginning to loosen up. Lenders and special servicers are faced with thousands of distressed assets on their balance sheets and in their portfolios, yet until...
  Welcome back old friend! Yes, we have seen a re-emergence of the blessed 1031 tax-deferred exchange in recent weeks, and what a welcome sight it is. The opportunity to protect hard earned equity in the sale of an investment has been available to investors since 1921. However, this part of the...
In recent weeks, Streetwise has looked at the divergence of opinions and perspectives present in the marketplace. There is significant optimism and pessimism present at the same time so the question becomes, Can market conditions actually be positive and negative at the same time? I believe the answer...
Normally, the content in StreetWise is very macro in nature as I try to make the topics of interest and germane to a national audience. This week, I will divert from this practice to share with you what we are seeing in the New York City building sales market and, perhaps, those of you operating in other...
