reystar continues to acquire and Equity Residential (EQR) continues to dispose of multi-family assets in Greater Phoenix, even after the former’s co-venture with Goldman Sachs closed its twenty seven-property portfolio sale and the latter completed its $11b acquisition of Archstone Enterprises. Acting through a non-traded REIT affiliate, Greystar Equity Partners VII, Joshua Carper and Robert Faith purchased the 328-unit Via Ventura Apartments from EQR for $36.5m or $111,280.49 per unit… Read more »

Ryan Companies US to Build 126,000 SF Manufacturing, Industrial Building in Chandler

A 126,000 SF industrial building designed for manufacturing and warehousing operations, known as EastGroup @ Chandler Freeways, is set for completion in 4Q 2013 adjacent to the 202 Freeway. Ryan Companies US, Inc. has been selected as general contractor for the project. “We continue to invest in Arizona as one of our five core states. We believe the Greater Phoenix industrial market has recovered to the point where there are shortages in certain types of industrial properties, justifying a limited amount of speculative construction,” said Bill Petsas, EastGroup Senior Vice President… Read more »

Gaylord Resort in Mesa at Eastmark Development May Have New Life

Remember last year when Gaylord Entertainment Inc. pulled the plug on its long-awaited Mesa resort and convention center at Eastmark after being acquired by Marriott International? Well, it turns out plans for the huge project may be resurrected… Read more »

New Growth Spurt for Valley

Phoenix poised to pass Philadelphia; Buckeye’s surge ranks 9th in U.S. Arizona growing again: Nearly all of the state’s largest municipalities gained population in 2012, the Census Bureau estimates. Shaking off a population slump tied to the housing bust, Phoenix once again was among the nation’s fastest-growing cities last year, newly released Census Bureau estimates show… Read more »

Latest Sales Tax Report Shows Arizonan Consumer Spending up 8.2 Percent

Forget fears of sequestration. And never mind the hike in payroll taxes that shrunk paychecks. A new report from the state Department of Revenue shows Arizonans are spending at pre-recession levels. And they’re opening up their wallets not just for new clothes but for major purchases like furniture and vehicles… Read more »

San Diego-based Pathfinder Partners LLC acquired the 144-unit Copper Creek for its eighth buy in the metro area. The SoCal buyer paid Chicago-based Equity Residential Properties $16.1 million for ownership rights of the 1980s-built multifamily property… Read more »

5.3 Acre “Argo at Town Lake” Project Sells for $13.5m, Purchased in 2011 for $4.6m

Evergreen Development sold a 5.3 acre parcel of land immediately south of the Tempe Center for the Arts for $13.5m or $58.19 per ft2 to Lennar Multifamily- a newly formed division of Lennar Corporation. Lennar secured a $37.5m construction deed of trust with California Bank and Trust. Andrew Skipper, co-founder of Evergreen, and Erik R Higgens, Vice President of Lennar Multifamily Investors, closed the deal… Read more »

Billions Pour into Healthcare REITs

It looks as if the good run for healthcare-focused real estate investment trusts is not coming to an end anytime soon. As of April 12, all of the US equity REITs – not just healthcare – had raised $18.3 billion in new equity and debt, according to the research firm SNL Financial. Of that, the country’s healthcare REITs accounted for 12.2% of the total, or about $2.24 billion… Read more »

Liberty Property Trust Transforms Sky Harbor Center In Phoenix

Liberty Property Trust this week announced the grand reopening and rebranding of 2626 S. 7th St., now known as Liberty Sky Harbor Center in Phoenix. Since acquiring what was a run-down, obsolete warehouse last September, the company has completed a redevelopment of the property and its transformation into a state-of-the-art cross-dock distribution center… Read more »

The New Normal: Forecasting Lessons Learned From the Recession

No economist or researcher called their 2008 forecast correctly. In fact, nobody could have predicted the government would let a large financial institution fail, nor be prepared for the panic that ensued. While various firms, including Fannie and Freddie, were being bailed out, policymakers seemed to disregard the interconnectedness stemming from the Lehman Bros. collapse… Read more »

Surging demand, new retail concepts and stirrings of new development were the talk of the Las Vegas Convention Center on Monday during the first day of RECon, the International Council of Shopping Centers’ annual spring convention. It is impossible to tell how many deals will emerge from the event, but as thousands of real estate professionals roamed the vast halls of the 3.5 million-square-foot facility, participants reported a sense of renewed optimism about the market… Read more »

Retail Development Back on the Horizon

Looking for proof that the retail real estate industry is in a better place than it was even a year ago? New development is no longer a distant pipedream, but a tangible possibility as industry players begin conceiving new projects. Some companies, primarily publicly-traded retail REITs, might already be close to putting shovels in the ground as they sign up expanding retailers to go into their new centers… Read more »

Store Opening Plans are at Five-Year High, Survey Says

The retailers in RBC Capital Markets’ database reported plans for 41,713 new store openings in the next 12 months, representing a five-year high in store opening plans. In the April issue of their National Retail Demand Monthly report, RBC analysts noted that “The continued strong demand by this large group of retailers comes despite fluctuations in overall consumer activity, increased payroll taxes, a modest GDP outlook and slow improvement on the employment front—another testimony to the long-term view taken by successful retailers. As such, we find little reason to suspect that planned store openings will pull back in any meaningful way in the near term”… Read more »

Lending Standards Easing for Biz, CRE; Chicago Fed Sees Lackluster Growth

The Federal Reserve reported in its April “Senior Loan Officer Opinion Survey on Bank Lending Practices” that domestic banks, on average, report easing their lending standards over the past three months–and experiencing stronger demand in several loan categories. Banks are (relatively) easier these days with business loans, but still a little Scrooge-like when it comes to lending to households… Read more »

Housing Market Now the ‘Tailwind’ Pushing Economic Growth

It was only a few years ago that the housing market helped drag the U.S. economy into the gutter, but times surely have changed. In its monthly economic forecast on Monday, Fannie Mae said it believes the recent slowdown in economic growth may be short-lived thanks to the strong rebound of the housing market, which will serve as the economy’s “tailwind” through the rest of the year and even into 2014… Read more »

This is my 12th trip to ICSC’s flagship event in the past 14 years and the thing that strikes me every time is the boundless optimism of retail real estate pros. Even in 2008—when the Las Vegas Convention Center was reduced to a ghost town by the Great Recession and the credit crisis—I remember executives assuring me that the dark days would pass quickly and, in fact, would yield amazing growth opportunities for the sector. This year is no exception. In fact, spirits seem to be soaring higher than ever. Attendance is in the neighborhood of 35,000, up about 10 percent from last year. The aisles and booths are packed. Everyone I’ve spoken to has a schedule overflowing with appointments. And they are not just “meet and greets.” People are here to buy or sell properties or sign leases. It bodes well for the rest of 2013… Read more »

Deep Freeze To Linger For GSA Office Needs

As the deadline arrives today for all federal agencies to submit reduced real estate plans, the continued office space freeze, consolidations and teleworking have combined for a historic event: an almost complete halt to national government office growth… Read more »

Fitch Ratings Says CMBS Delinquencies Lowest in Five Years

Commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBS) delinquencies in the United States fell in April to their lowest level in five years, according to the latest data from ratings agency Fitch Ratings. Late payments for CMBS declined 19 basis points in April, going down to 7.44 percent from 7.63 percent in March, according to Fitch Ratings. Furthermore, the total amount of new delinquencies reported in April, $747 million, dropped below the $1 billion mark for the first time since February 2009… Read more »

Outlook: All U.S. Real Estate Sectors to Post Gains in 2013 – Yes, Even Retail

Although 2013 isn’t a blockbuster year for real estate performance, landlords across an array of commercial property types are gaining pricing control and increased rental income from their assets… Read more »

Towering Above: Making a Statement in Downtown Scottsdale

A landmark in Downtown Scottsdale since 1972, imagine the view from this 11-story, Class A high-rise, formerly known as the Camelview Office Building at 6900 East Camelback Road. With its new designation of Camelback Tower, this exclusive property, connected to Scottsdale Fashion Square, has recently been reinvigorated, attracting new tenants to make a distinctive statement towering above Scottsdale… Read more »

Following a recent string of relentlessly unexciting market trends in retail real estate over the past several quarters comes this distinctly positive news for retail property owners — quoted asking rents have finally turned upward across all retail property types in the U.S. for the first time since 2008… Read more »

Arizona Adding Jobs, but Unemploymnt Rate Holds Steady

Arizona’s job market remains flat. The state’s unemployment rate held steady at 7.9 percent in April for the third straight month. There were 5,200 jobs added by Arizona employers last month, according to the Arizona Department of Administration… Read more »

LA Buyer Snags 110,000-SF Scottsdale 68

Wilshire Capital Partners of Los Angeles purchased the Scottsdale 68 Design District from Fenway Properties for $11 million. The 109,652-square-foot sale ended Fenway’s more than five-year hold of the asset, which was once known as the 68th Street Design Center… Read more »

Recovery In CRE Sales, Pricing Up Year over Year, Despite Sluggish First Quarter

Just like clockwork, after ending 2012 on an upswing, commercial real estate pricing softened in the first three months of 2013, according to the latest findings from the CoStar Commercial Repeat Sale Indices (CCRSI). Despite uneven performance in the first quarter, CRE prices have still increased appreciably from year ago levels… Read more »

Boomers, Gen Y Drive RE Demand

With Baby Boomers and Generation Y-ers the “dominant drivers of real estate demand over the coming decade,” according to Urban Land Institute, their location preferences for working, living and playing are extremely influential in commercial real estate decision-making… Read more »