Commercial Real Estate & Business News – February 2, 2016

After selling its portfolio of 2,759 apartment units in seven Valley properties in 2014, Standard Portfolios LLC in Arcadia, Calif. (David Liu, principal) has re-entered the Valley real estate investment market with the purchase of a multi-family community located near Intel Corp. in Chandler. A company formed by Standard Portfolios paid $64.5 million ($162,879 per unit) to buy the 396-unit Country Brook apartments at 4909 W. Joshua Boulevard...Read more »

he lodging investment sales outlook for 2016, both domestically and globally, is a bit more muted compared to the results that were tallied for 2015, according to JLL’s Hotel Investment Outlook. The firm is projecting US transaction volume of $35 billion this year, compared to $43 billion for the year prior, and $70 billion worldwide, a drop-off globally of 15% to 20%... Read more »

For office space design in 2016, “sense of purpose” is the new catchphrase that office-using businesses are using to attract and retain workers, including the much sought-after Millennials, according to recent research reports. Leading up to the recession, many companies were already looking to shave off extra square footage from their real estate and the downturn forced further downsizing and space efficiency, resulting in smaller desk areas per worker than in decades past... Read more »

In December, when the Federal Reserve raised rates for the first time in nearly a decade, many would-be homebuyers assumed it meant the beginning of the end for record-low mortgage rates. "This is evidence that the Federal Reserve isn't the sole determinant of U.S. mortgage rates," said Mark Hamrick, senior economic analyst at Bankrate. The 30-year mortgage rate fell to 3.79%, the fourth straight week of declines, according to Freddie Mac. A year ago, the rate averaged 3.66%... Read more »

Arizona is gaining traction in one of the most crucial business categories to boost the state’s gross domestic product: middle market enterprises — but not to the extent needed. Middle market companies generated 92 percent of the job growth since the recession. These are companies with revenues from $10 million to $1 billion annually. There are nearly 2,100 of them based in Arizona, as compared to only 37 large enterprise headquarters with revenues of $1 billion or more... Read more »