Category: Top National News

Bloomberg, Oct. 13, 2015–Gopal, Prashant; Collins, Margaret
What does Manhattan’s tallest residential tower have in common with the Hooters hotel-casino in Las Vegas? They’re investments for rich families.

Wall Street Journal, Oct. 13, 2015–Brown, Eliot
If developer Steven Witkoff’s ambitions are realized, he will complete by 2020 a soaring 900-foot condominium tower that would be the latest addition to the “Billionaires’ Row” of ultraluxury skyscrapers on the southern edge of New York’s Central Park.

Vancouver Sun, Oct. 6, 2015–Duggan, EvanTrillions of dollars of investment in global commercial real estate are being handled and monitored with outdated information technology programs that are at risk for human error and inaccuracy, a new report from Altus Group said.

DSNews, Oct. 6, 2015–West, Xhevrije Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were placed into conservatorship seven years ago, and questions still linger as to how and when to reform the GSEs.The Bipartisan Policy Center hosted a keynote address and panel discussion titled “Housing Finance Reform: Opportunities and Obstacles of Risk Sharing” on Tuesday.

Bloomberg, Oct. 6, 2015–Yu, Hui-Yong
MetLife Inc. is taking a majority stake in a 43-story office tower being built next to San Francisco’s Transbay Transit Center, expanding the biggest U.S. life insurer’s holdings in one of the country’s most expensive office markets.

National Mortgage News, Sept. 29, 2015–Finkelstein, BradBayview and Freddie Mac believe they can provide a stable funding supply to underserved to owners of small commercial properties.

National Real Estate Investor, Sept. 29, 2015–Misonzhnik, ElaineWorries about the fallout from Chinese economic troubles notwithstanding, U.S. chain retailers upped the number of stores they plan to open in the short term, according to the August report from RBC Capital Markets.

Bloomberg, Sept. 29, 2015–Alloway, Tracy; Scully, Matt Morgan Stanley analyst Richard Hill found something interesting in commercial mortgage-backed security remittance reports: three loans worth a collective $71 million made to Colony Hills Capital and which underpin two CMBS deals have found their way to special servicing.

Wall Street Journal, Sept. 21, 2015–Dezember, Ryan  Two big owners of single-family rental homes said Monday they have agreed to merge, a bet that rents will keep rising and homes will remain difficult for many Americans to buy.

Wall Street Journal, Sept. 22, 2015–Fung, EstherAmid all the hype about Chinese investors buying real estate abroad, one prominent tycoon is bucking the trend. Zhang Xin, CEO of commercial property developer Soho China, said that real estate assets in major cities abroad are currently too pricey.