Commercial Real Estate Looking Frothy

Mortgage Professional America, Nov. 19, 2015–Chiglinsky, Katherine ; Scully, Matt
Voya Financial Inc.’s Christine Hurtsellers said she’s staying away from new issues of commercial mortgage-backed securities, echoing concerns from Federal Reserve officials and bond graders about loosening underwriting standards in the market.

Fort Lauderdale Gets a Makeover

Wall Street Journal, Dec. 1, 2015–Karmin, Craig
Fort Lauderdale is undergoing a vast makeover. A string of new luxury hotels and residential buildings along the beach promenade are attracting a mix of well-heeled U.S. tourists, foreign condo buyers and visiting families from all over.

Capital Spigot Is Wide Open

National Real Estate Investor, Dec. 2, 2015–Mattson-Teig, Beth
Commercial real estate borrowers are reveling in a market where capital is both cheap and plentiful, and even an expected rise in interest rates is not likely to take the wind out of the sails of the current robust lending climate.

The Goods on Inflation and the Fed

Wall Street Journal, Nov. 17, 2015–Lahart, Justin
Prices of goods and services are taking divergent paths. So, too, are the fortunes of many companies.

House Passes Bill to End Pay Raises for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac CEOs

Washington Post, Nov. 16, 2015–McGregor, Jena
Monday evening, the U.S. House of Representatives voted to approve a bill that would suspend new annual target compensation of $4 million each for Freddie Mac CEO Donald Layton and Fannie Mae CEO Timothy Mayopoulos. If signed into law by President Obama, the bill would return the cap on their pay to $600,000.

Mall Owners Find Silver Lining in Retailer Busts

Wall Street Journal, Nov. 17, 2015–Pleven, Liam
A spate of retailer bankruptcies this year has left owners of malls and shopping centers scrambling to fill empty stores and dented their financial results. The share prices of several real-estate investment trusts that focus on retail properties are lagging behind the overall market in 2015.

Auction.com’s Delicate Real-Estate Expansion

Wall Street Journal, Nov. 16, 2015–Grant, Peter
Auction.com is launching a major push to develop stronger ties with brokers as part of a broader effort to expand its commercial-property business. The firm, which started online real-estate auctions in 2008, has been listing commercial property since 2009.

Blackstone is Now ‘The Largest Owner of Real Estate in the World’

Business Insider, Nov. 16, 2015–Marino, Jonathan
Blackstone, the biggest private equity firm on Wall Street, has seen even greater growth in its real estate division, which today manages nearly $100 billion worth of property. Steve Schwarzman is America’s landlord and he’s not afraid to acknowledge it.

Blackstone To Buy $3B In Property Fund Stakes From Calpers

Reuters Nov. 13, 2015
Blackstone Group LP, the world’s largest alternative asset manager, has agreed to buy about $3 billion worth of stakes in real estate funds from Californian public pension fund Calpers, a boost to its so-called secondaries business.