Euro Zone in Spotlight with Cypruss in Center Stage

Jeanne Peck

Chicago, IL, April 2, 2013 -- Once again, the Euro Zone is in the spotlight with Cyprus in center stage. This time around, the stock market hit record highs and the bond markets reacted calmly.   Investors are becoming more accustomed to such news. Therefore, overall treasury rates remain somewhat flat with mortgage markets continuously enjoying record low rates.

All in all, five-year fixed-rate debt is priced in the 2.5% to 3.5% range with ten-year debt priced approximately 1% more. The only other news on the permanent loan front is the FHA/HUD. This agency's rates are now more in line with conventional mortgage markets.  The program still remains attractive though, due to the longer-term and non-recourse, new-construction funding program options.

In addition to senior debt discussions, mezzanine and preferred equity

funding sources continue to tighten pricing.  Loans up to 75% leverage are

priced in the single digit range; for aggressive, higher leverage debt of up

to 90% of the capital stack, lower to mid-teens is now the new benchmark.

The sources of funds find themselves aggressively competing with cheaper

equity capital.  Everyone is scrambling to find attractive realty investment

opportunities in various parts of the capital stack.

CMBS Lenders continue to fill their higher goals for 2013 by tightening spreads and actively quoting smaller loans (although few will be interested in loan sizes less than $5 million).  Priced over swap rates rather than

treasuries, their quotes have been competitive with more traditional sources for certain properties.

Lastly, a select group of life companies are returning to the market with competitive participating loan programs.  These funding sources offer construction/perm product for to-be-built multifamily projects with up to 90% leverage on cost; accruing coupon rates of 4.5% and more.  

In return, they receive a participation of cash flow and reversionary profits (usually just below 50%).

According to Jeanne Peck of the Real Estate Capital Institute, "lenders are

opening their wallets wider than ever before. Nearly everyone is in the fray

for originating loans, and it's difficult to discern which capital player is

a best match for what type of deal."

For a complete copy of the company’s news release, please contact:

  

Jeanne Peck,

Executive Director

director@reci.com

www.reci.com

The   Real Estate Capital Institute(r)

3517 West Arthington Street

Chicago, Illinois USA 60624

Northside Hospital Inc. renews 43,051-SF lease at Meridian Mark Plaza in Atlanta, GA

  

Meridian Park Plaza, Atlanta, GA

 ATLANTA, GA– Northside Hospital Inc. has renewed its lease at Meridian Mark Plaza in Atlanta, a property developed and owned by Cousins Properties Incorporated (NYSE: CUZ).

The 10-year, 43,051-square-foot renewal is primarily Northside Hospital’s Outpatient Surgery Center in addition to its pharmacy and other ancillary services.

“Northside Hospital is a great organization and we’re pleased to extend our long-term, successful relationship with them,” said Thad Ellis, Senior Vice President of Cousins.

Northside Hospital is one of Meridian Mark Plaza’s original tenants. Meridian Mark Plaza is a 160,000-square-foot medical office building and it’s been approximately 97 percent leased for the past 10 years.

J. Thad Ellis II

 Located along the Glenridge Connector, Meridian Mark Plaza is near “Pill Hill,” a cluster of the region’s major hospitals and doctors’ offices near Georgia 400 and Interstate 285.

“Northside’s lease renewal symbolizes a reinvestment in the Meridian Mark Plaza building by Northside Hospital,” added George Olmstead, owner of Olmstead Realty LLC, who represented Cousins in the lease renewal.

“We also think it underscores how important great access to Pill Hill and the surrounding roads and freeways is for an outpatient clinic. Given the ever-changing dynamics of healthcare and in particular the local dynamics of the Pill Hill real estate market, I’m thrilled that Northside Hospital renewed here.”

In addition to Olmstead who represented Cousins, Joseph Krumdieck with Realty Trust Group represented Northside Hospital Inc. in the transaction.

 For a complete copy of the company’s news release, please contact:

Rachel Tobin,

Jackson Spalding                                

(404) 724-2501;

 rtobin@jacksonspalding.com

www.cousinsproperties.com

www.olmsteadrealty.net

.

The Devil’s in the Details: How to Protect Yourself in Commercial Contracts

 

Seth Weissman

ATLANTA, GA– While writing commercial real estate contracts is the job of lawyers, all industry professionals and investors should be well versed in how to craft sales agreements that protect their interests and investments.

 That was one of the points driven home in the most recent episode of the “Commercial Real Estate Show” radio program, hosted by Michael Bull of Bull Realty.

The episode, for which Bull was joined for the entire hour by Seth Weissman, a partner with the Weissman Nowack Curry & Wilco law firm, provided an enlightening look at the many issues surrounding the creation of commercial real estate contracts and outlined numerous pitfalls for both buyers and sellers to avoid.

Michael Bull

Topics included earnest money, termination notices, title insurance and due diligence.

 Too often, buyers and sellers draft their own contracts and write them in such a way that they’re not legally enforceable, Weissman said. Furthermore, buyers and sellers should not rely on verbal agreements to handle any component of a transaction.

 “Basically what our courts do when there is a real estate dispute is, they look only at the four corners of the contract,” Weissman said. “No one is going to be asking, ‘Well, what was your verbal discussion?’ If it’s not in the contract, it doesn’t count.”

 The entire episode on commercial real estate contracts is available for download at www.CREshow.com. The next “Commercial Real Estate Show” will be available April 4 and will provide an update on the U.S. hotel and lodging market.

 For a complete copy of the company’s news release, please contact:

Stephen Ursery

The Wilbert Group

E-mail: sursery@thewilbertgroup.com

Office: (404) 965-5026

Cell: (404) 405-2354

www.thewilbertgroup.com

Cohen Commercial Realty Signs Subway in New Juno Beach, FL Lease Transaction

Plaza La Mer, Juno Beach, FL

Juno Beach, FL— Bryan S. Cohen, Chris Haass, and Eddie Vanderwerff announced today the signing of Subway, to lease a 1,125-square-foot unit at Plaza La Mer located on the northwest corner of Donald Ross Road and U.S. Highway One. 

Cohen Commercial Realty represented the tenant and Woolbright Development represented the landlord.

Cohen Commercial Realty, Inc., is a full-service commercial real estate brokerage firm dedicated to fulfilling client needs quickly and efficiently throughout the South Florida market and beyond.

For a complete copy of the company’s news release, please contact:

Jamie Crocker

561-471-0212

Cohen Commercial Realty, Inc.

P.O. Box 223244

West Palm Beach, FL 33422

www.cohencommercial.com

Plaza Advisors Announces Sale of Highlands Plaza in Lakeland, FL

Highlands Plaza, Lakeland, FL

TAMPA, FL, April 2, 2013 -- Plaza Advisors is pleased to announce the sale of  Highlands Plaza, a Winn Dixie grocery anchored shopping center located in Lakeland (Polk Beach County) Florida.

The asset contains 102,575 square feet of gross leasable area. The major tenants include Winn Dixie, Central Florida Speech & Hearing Clinic and Chase Bank. The asset was constructed in 1989 and was 84% leased at the time of sale.

  

Jim Michalak

Jim Michalak and Paul Bores of Plaza Advisors represented the seller in the transaction. The seller and buyer were DDR Corp. and Highlands Plaza Building Owner, LLC a private equity firm based in south Florida, respectively. 

 “While the capital markets demand for Publix anchored centers are at an all-time high this transaction is reflective of the continuation of the investor migration for necessity based retail product located in middle market areas of Florida” states Jim Michalak. “Furthermore, investors tend to garner better returns and experience less acquisition competition as compared to Publix centers located in Florida’s primary markets”.

Paul Bores

Plaza Advisors is a real estate brokerage firm that specializes in the disposition of retail properties throughout the State of Florida. Plaza Advisors’ clients include private equity investors, developers, and major institutions including fund advisors, servicing agents, life insurance companies, REITs, and money center banks.

 Plaza Advisors has closed over 130 shopping center transactions, with a combined GLA exceeding 13 million square feet with an aggregate sales volume in excess of $1.5 billion.

  For a complete copy of the company’s news release, please contact:

Jim Michalak

 Managing Partner

Plaza Advisors

3412 Bay To Bay Boulevard

Tampa, FL 33629

813.837.1300 Ext. 101

Fax 831.2627

jim.michalak@plazadvisors.com

www.plazadvisors.com

Integrity Home Loan of Central Florida Appoints Veteran Reverse Mortgage Specialist Barbara D. Sayre to Work with Seniors in Central Florida

Barbara D. Sayre

Lake Mary, FL--- Integrity Home Loan of Central Florida, Inc. recently appointed veteran mortgage specialist Barbara D. Sayre a loan officer in its headquarters office at 901 International Parkway in Lake Mary.

Matt Malloy, president of Integrity Home Loan of Central Florida, Inc., said Sayre, who has more than 20 years of experience as a residential mortgage professional, will focus solely on helping seniors obtain reverse mortgages, which provide them with cash from equity in their homes while they remain in their homes for life.

“Barbara Sayre is one of the most experienced residential mortgage professionals in Central Florida and she is one of the leading experts in Florida on reverse mortgages,” Malloy said.

For a complete copy of the company’s news release, please contact:

Matt Malloy, President, Integrity Home Loan of Central Florida, 407-688-8268 matt.malloy@inthomeloan.com NMLS #- 161433

Jason Scott, Marketing Manager, Integrity Home Loan, 407-688-6618 jason.scott@inthomeloan.com;

Larry Vershel, Larry Vershel Communications, 407-644-4142, lvershelco@aol.com

Integrity Home Loan of Central Florida names new underwriter and sales manager

LAKE MARY, FL. --- Integrity Home Loan of Central Florida, which ranks as one of the state’s fastest growing mortgage loan companies, has named a new FHA-VA underwriter.

Matt Malloy, president of Integrity Home Loan of Central Florida, said Robert L. Mayrand II who has close to 10 years of experience is the new underwriter for the Jacksonville branch.  Mayrand attended Florida Community College in Jacksonville.

At the same time, Malloy named Don Almeida, sales manager for the central Florida region. Almeida is a graduate of the University of Central Florida and has been in sales for five years. 

Integrity is Florida’s largest fully integrated privately owned mortgage company with 11 branches including the headquarters in Lake Mary and locations in Coral Springs, West Palm Beach, Jacksonville, Orlando, Tampa and in the Detroit suburb of Southfield, Mich.

For a complete copy of the company’s news release, please contact:

Matt Malloy, President, Integrity Home Loan of Central Florida, 407-688-8268 matt.malloy@inthomeloan.com NMLS #- 161433

Jason Scott, Marketing Manager, Integrity Home Loan, 407-688-6618 jason.scott@inthomeloan.com;

Larry Vershel, Larry Vershel Communications, 407-644-4142, lvershelco@aol.com

Integrity Home Loan of Central Florida Appoints Two Veteran Loan Officers in Lake Mary, FL Office

Matt Malloy

Lake Mary, FL. --- Integrity Home Loan of Central Florida, Inc., Florida’s largest and most active residential mortgage provider, recently appointed veteran mortgage specialists Cliff Taylor and George Carlton Thornton III loan officers in its headquarters office at 901 International Parkway in Lake Mary

Matt Malloy, president of Integrity Home Loan of Central Florida, Inc., said Taylor has more than four years of experience as a loan officer with Ameriquest Mortgage and two years of experience as a licensed Florida Realtor.

Thornton, who attended Southern Illinois University, has more than 10 years of experience as a loan originator.

For a complete copy of the company’s news release, please contact:

Matt Malloy, President, Integrity Home Loan of Central Florida, 407-688-8268 matt.malloy@inthomeloan.com NMLS #- 161433

Jason Scott, Marketing Manager, Integrity Home Loan, 407-688-6618 jason.scott@inthomeloan.com;

Larry Vershel, Larry Vershel Communications, 407-644-4142, lvershelco@aol.com

Brown Harris Stevens Reports Impacted by Tax Law Changes in 2012, 1st Quarter Average Manhattan Apartment Price Fell 16% From 1st Quarter 2012

Hall F. Wilkie

New York, NY, April 2, 2013 --  According to the 2013 first quarter Manhattan residential market report released today by Brown Harris Stevens, the average Manhattan apartment sale price of $1,252,081 was down 16% from the first quarter of 2012.

The median price, which measures the middle of the market and is less impacted by high-end sales, was down 5% to $780,000 over that same period. Although inventory is at low levels and there was a rush to close at the end of 2012, the number of closings was up 3% to 1,846 when compared to the first quarter of last year.

Cooperative apartments of all sizes saw lower average sales prices over the first quarter of 2012. The overall average price of $925,815 was 22% lower than during the first quarter last year with three-bedroom and larger co-ops posting the biggest decrease in average price, down 31% from a year ago. 

 “With many buyers, especially those on the high-end, rushing to close at the end of 2012, we experienced a significant decline in high-end closings. This quarter’s statistics were also impacted by the $88 million closing at 15 Central Park West one year ago,” said Hall F. Willkie, president of Brown Harris Stevens Residential Sales.

 “As interest rates remain low, the local economy is strong, and with inventory of available apartments 30 percent below where it was a year ago, we continue to see a healthy level of activity with well-priced homes selling quickly.”

Report highlights include:

·         The average time on the market until signed contract was 111 days, 14% less time than a year ago.

·         On the East Side, all sized apartments saw a decrease in average sales price except studios.

·         The average price on the West Side particularly for 3 bedroom and larger apartments was impacted by the $88 million sale in the first quarter of 2012 at 15 Central Park West.

·         Downtown studios and 2-bedrooms saw price increases while 1-bedrooms and 3-bedroom and larger apartments experienced a decrease over the past year.

 For a complete copy of the company’s news release, please contact:

Rachel Gonzalez,

 Rubenstein PR

212.843.9240 /

rgonzalez@rubensteinpr.com  

www.BrownHarrisStevens.com