Harvey E. Green of Marcus & Millichap Retires

PALO ALTO, CA – Marcus & Millichap Real Estate Investment Services, the nation’s largest real estate investment services firm, announced today that president and chief executive officer, Harvey E. Green, (top right photo)  has retired from the firm. A formal search is being initiated with Green’s input and participation.

“Harvey’s tireless energy, dedication and passion have been driving forces behind the firm’s tremendous expansion and emergence as the leader in real estate investment brokerage,” says George M. Marcus, (top left photo)  founder and chairman. “The firm would not be where it is today without his leadership,” he adds.

Green joined Marcus & Millichap in 1981 and quickly rose through the ranks having opened the firm’s Encino office, which became a flagship operation. He was named chief operating officer in 1996 and then president and CEO in 2000, at which time he accelerated the firm’s aggressive national expansion. Green led the company’s growth from 22 offices and 424 agents in 1996 to 76 offices and over 1,200 agents currently.

During this period, the volume of transactions arranged by the firm grew from just over 1,000 in 1996 to more than 3,400 in 2009, the highest of any real estate brokerage company.

 Green is widely recognized as a leading real estate expert by the national media and is a frequent contributor to such leading media outlets as CNBC, Fox Business News, Wall Street Journal, New York Times and Los Angeles Times.

Throughout his 29 years with the firm, Harvey has set an exceptionally high standard of performance and professionalism and led by example in every way,” says William A. Millichap (middle right photo)  the firm’s co-founder and co-chairman.

“He has contributed greatly to the development of the firm’s management team and its top investment specialists, and his input in the selection and orientation of his successor will be vital,” he notes.

“I am very proud of our accomplishments as a team,” says Green. “We have always been a forward-looking firm and collectively believe this is the best time to establish new leadership to take the company to its next phase of growth.”

WCI Communities Hires Marcus & Millichap to Sell Sun city Golf Course Portfolio in Florida  

SUN CITY CENTER, Fla., April 12, 2009 – Marcus & Millichap Real Estate Investment Services, the nation’s largest real estate investment services, has been retained by WCI Communities to exclusively market seven of its golf courses in Sun City Center, Fla.

WCI Communities, a builder of upscale, lifestyle communities, is listing the properties with Steve Ekovich (bottom left photo); a vice president investments and director of the National Golf and Resort Properties Group of Marcus & Millichap; and the group’s co-founder, PGA Professional, Chris Karamitsos, (bottom right photo)  according to Bryn D. Merrey, regional manager of Marcus & Millichap’s Tampa office.

The seven-course portfolio consists of the two premier 18-hole courses, Scepter Golf Club and Club Renaissance, two 27-hole championship courses Falcon Watch and Sandpiper, two executive courses, Kings Point and Caloosa Greens and the 18-hole North Lakes Golf Club.

The portfolio includes all of the golf courses, golf club amenities and all maintenance equipment and facilities.

Built in the 1960s, Sun City Center is located less than 20 miles from the heart of downtown Tampa. It began as an active retirement community with such recreational activities as tennis, swimming, shuffleboard, lawn bowling and golf.

Since that time, WCI has grown Sun City Center into a 12,000-plus household development, providing residents with state-of-the-art amenities that include recreation centers, baseball fields, fitness and spa centers and some of the Tampa Bay area’s finest golf courses, designed by architects such as Chip Powell and Ron Garl.

Since successfully reorganizing in 2009, WCI’s strategic direction has included disposing of certain non-core assets. The courses may be purchased individually; however, priority is being given to portfolio offers first, followed by multi-course offers and then by individual course offers.

“Even before the portfolio hit the market on April 2, there was significant interest due to the quality of assets, reasonable pricing and the potential for an instant golf footprint in this golf-centric market,” according to Ekovich.

Contact: Stacey Corso, Public Relations Manager, (925) 953-1716

Home Repos Jump 25% In South Florida In 1st Quarter

MIAMI, FL--Lenders repossessed nearly 9,200 properties in the tricounty South Florida region in the first quarter of 2010, representing a 25 percent year-over-year increase compared to the same January through March period in 2009, according to a new report from CondoVultures.com.

The first quarter surge was led by 3,707 property repossessions in Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach counties in March 2010, which established a new high for a single month in the 39 months that CondoVultures.com has tracked bank repossessions.

Prior to March 2010, the highest number of lender repossessions in any given month was 3,706 in December 2009, according to the report based on Clerk of the Court records.

South Florida bank repossessions totaled 2,900 in the month of February and 2,475 in January, according to the report.


Auction Bids Average $121 Per Foot At New Miami Tower

Individual buyers bid an average of $121 per square foot - nearly double the minimum asking price but 44 percent below the original construction loan amount - on 65 developers units in the first auction of a new Miami condo tower in more than three years, according to a new report from CondoVultures.com.

More than 300 people turned out to the Hyatt Regency Miami Hotel in Downtown Miami and an unknown number of additional investors logged in online to participate in the April 10 auction of more than five dozen individual units in the San Lorenzo condominium, (middle right photo)  which is located a few miles to the west in the Little Havana neighborhood.

It is unclear how many of the units will actually be sold to the highest bidders as the auction was contingent upon approval by the developer and the lender, which alone is owed about $216 per square foot, according to the report based on Miami-Dade County records.

Miami Heat's Dwyane Wade Loses $1.5M In Real Estate Deal

Miami Heat all-star Dwyane Wade, (bottom left photo)  who is up for a record contract this offseason when he becomes a free agent, lost nearly $1.5 million last week by reselling his 9,000-square-foot mansion in a wealthy Miami suburb for less than he originally paid, according to a new report from CondoVultures.com.

Wade, who is reportedly getting a divorce from his wife Siohvaughn Wade, sold the couple's two-story, six-bedroom mansion on nearly an acre inPinecrest on March 31 for $2.5 million, or $277 per square foot.

The Wades originally purchased the house new in 2005 for $3.98 million, or $440 per square foot, in August 2005 at the peak of the South Florida housing market, according to the report based on Miami-Dade County records.

The Wades' house on Southwest 59th Place is currently assessed for property tax purposes at $2.9 million, or $316 per square foot, according to the report.

Contact:  Peter Zalewski of Condo Vultures®, 800-750-0517,  peter@condovultures.com.

Lane Witherspoon & Carswell Fully Leases Port Ybor in Tampa, FL

TAMPA, FL, April 13, 2010-- Lane Witherspoon & Carswell Commercial Real Estate Advisors has achieved 100% occupancy at Port Ybor's 437,600-square foot business park (above centered photo) with the recent negotiation of a new 16,537 square foot long-term lease for InStar Services Group, L.P in Port Ybor Building 2.

Managing Director Clay Witherspoon (top right photo) and Director Trey Carswell  (top left photo) of Lane Witherspoon & Carswell negotiated the transaction on behalf of the property owner, ING Clarion.

The tenant, InStar Services Group, L.P., was represented by Cushman & Wakefield of Florida, Inc. InStar is a leading national provider of disaster response, insurance restoration and reconstruction services headquartered in Grand Prairie, Texas (www.instarservices.com).

"InStar joins the likes of Carrier, the US Postal Service and Spectra Flooring Services, a division of Shaw Industries," says Witherspoon. "Port Ybor is 100% leased in this challenging market, further validating the great location and quality of product the park offers."

Witherspoon and Carswell also negotiated the 281,600-square foot five-year lease renewal for the United States Post Office in Port Ybor Building 1, recognized as the Bay area's largest transaction of 2009.

Port Ybor consists of two single-story bulk warehouse buildings totaling 437,600 square feet, situated on 33 acres in the heart of Port of Tampa in the Downtown Tampa Industrial submarket.

Port Ybor Building 2 is a single-story, 156,000-square foot multi-tenanted class A industrial building and was built in 2006.

It is located at 1802 Grant Street in Tampa, Hillsborough County, Florida, and is exclusively leased by Lane Witherspoon & Carswell. Located at the intersection of 20th Street and Grant Avenue, the property has waterfront access to accommodate the docking of ships and cargo, with direct access to deep water, the main shipping channel and CSX rail service.

In addition to Port Ybor, other ING Clarion assets in the Tampa Bay area include the 680,000-square foot Madison Industrial Park, (bottom right phto)  also exclusively leased by Lane Witherspoon & Carswell.

Lane Witherspoon & Carswell Commercial Real Estate Advisors is a client-focused, full-service brokerage and property management firm that provides market expertise to landlords, tenants, buyers and sellers of office, industrial and retail properties in central and west Florida.

 With more than 50 years combined commercial real estate experience, Lane Witherspoon & Carswell consistently delivers unparalleled customer service and market knowledge while maximizing value for its clients.

Established in 2007, the firm currently has 3.59 million square feet of listings and is based in Tampa, Florida. For more information, visit www.lwccommercial.com.

Media Contact:
Lisa Pelec Hyde
PR@lisapelechyde.com

LWC Contact: Clay Witherspoon or Trey Carswell
Lane Witherspoon & Carswell
1715 N. Westshore Boulevard, Suite 130
Tampa, Florida 33607
T: 813.288.1800 • F: 813.288.1866