Category: Top National News

Commercial Observer, Oct. 27, 2015–Balbi, Danielle Wells Fargo is taking the lead on roughly $2.5 billion in debt financing to Blackstone Group and Ivanhoe Cambridge for their joint purchase of Stuyvesant Town-Peter Cooper Village, two people familiar with the deal told Commercial Observer.

Wall Street Journal, Oct. 28, 2015–Wei, Lingling; Karmin, Craig
At least three big Chinese companies are competing to win Beijing’s approval to bid for Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc., according to people with knowledge of the discussions, setting the stage for what could be the largest-ever Chinese takeover of a U.S. company.

Wall Street Journal, Oct. 26, 2015–Kusisto, Laura
Sam Zell has agreed to sell more than 23,000 apartments controlled by his real-estate company, Equity Residential, for $5.4 billion to Starwood Capital Group, the companies said.

World Property Journal, Oct. 23, 2015
According to the Mortgage Bankers Association 2014 Report on Multifamily Lending, 2,876 different multifamily lenders that provided $195.1 billion in new mortgages for apartment buildings with five or more units.

Wall Street Journal, Oct. 27, 2015–Kusisto, Laura
Brookfield Property Partners is making its first venture into Brooklyn, buying a majority stake in two planned apartment towers on the New York City borough’s waterfront, the company said.

Huffington Post, Oct. 21, 2015–Susman, AronWhether you see the rapid growth of tech startups as a boom or a bubble, tech activity is higher than it’s been since 2000 and has impacted the economies and landscapes of cities around the world. Here are four ways that tech companies are affecting NYC’s real estate landscape.

Washington Post, Oct. 28, 2015–Kelly, John The CoStar Group’s Field Operations Center directs 140 field researchers that spread out across North America noting every aspect of the real estate they encounter: the type of building, the size, the shape, whether there’s a “For Lease” sign in a window.

New York Times, Oct. 20, 2015–Morrissey, JanetInvestors, shaken by the sell-off in the broader market, are frantically seeking refuge in companies offering buybacks, high dividend yields – anything that can stop the bleeding in their portfolios. And certain real estate investment trusts are quickly becoming an attractive option.

Bloomberg Intelligence, Oct. 20, 2015–Wright, Josh; Riccadonna, CarlHousing starts jumped more than expected while permits slumped in September, in both cases due to the more-volatile multifamily segments. A large decline in housing permits was also driven predominantly by the multifamily sector.

Realty News Today, Oct. 21, 2015Traditionally, commercial property brokers do not like to split the commissions they get. One Canadian commercial property agency will try to change that and apply commission splitting and other methods used in the residential property business.