Archive for March, 2011
Pads, Pods and PCs! Productivity Tools for Commercial Real Estate?
Mar 31st
iPads and other Pads are all the rage these days. Everyone seems to be lining up to have a new way to surf the web and download music videos; brochures; and movies. In addition to the early success of the Apple iPad, there is a host of a dozen or more similar pad products by Cisco; HP; Dell; Samsung (already with the Galaxy); and many others. Only difference is that Apple still does not do Adobe FLASH or Java. Hence its major limitation to business uses no matter how slick it looks. But in slickness, it is still superior to most of the others… so far.
There are also a host of new smart PDA phones coming onto the market. I just bought a new HTC Android 4G and it is slick, More >
What is a Phase 1 Environmental Site Assessment?
Mar 29th
A Phase 1 Environmental Site Assessment should be an integral step in acquiring commercial and/or industrial property. So what is a Phase 1 Environmental Site Assessment, sometimes referred to as a “Phase 1 or a Phase 1 ESA”?
A Phase 1 ESA is a report that summarizes a site visit and records review of a property and its surrounding area to determine if any More >
Most Latin American Economies Provide Strong Engine for Commercial Real Estate Growth
Mar 25th
Before the Q1 2011 comes to an end, I should probably give my 2010 Year End update. It was an exciting year in most Latin American countries and a notable one in a few others, but for this latter group it wasn’t necessarily the kind of notoriety that most of us free market ideologues enjoy. The majority of the countries in Latin America are continuing the strong growth and development trend with the exception of those countries (Bolivia, Nicaragua and Ecuador) ruled by presidents who believe the More >
Industry Leaders Sam Zell and Bliss Morris Share Views on the State of Commercial Real Estate
Mar 24th
Sam Zell, appearing on CNBC’s Squawk Box earlier this month, reiterated several interesting points about current market conditions and trends in the commercial real estate sector:
- We haven’t built anything in the U.S. since mid-2007, and except for some apartments we are not going to build anything significant for another two to three years.
- Existing space is being filled at rates 20-30% lower than 2007.
- Commercial real estate is not the next shoe to drop – you don’t have destruction without oversupply and we don’t have oversupply.
- There is a direct correlation between filling of buildings and the end of pretend and extend – until now banks have been able More >
Preventing REO Stack
Mar 23rd
In 2011 banks and special servicers continue to see growth in the number of foreclosed commercial properties. This despite a dramatic shift of money center banks to sell notes on distressed debt as opposed to directly foreclosing and dealing with the legal mess, the cost and the time requirements to take possession of defaulted real estate. In 2010, one of our special servicer clients sold about $ 3 billion in commercial property in the U.S. Problem was $9 billion of new REO came in the door during the same time period. All these assets came from banks. How can those responsible to sell these assets accelerate the rate at which property can be sold at the best price?
One idea is for banks and others to invest in “Pre-Diligence,” a term coined by the NAI Global Special Asset Solutions team. Today More >
