This is my first post in a very long time. The only reason I am posting today is because I didn’t really have to do anything to put this post up. The following analysis is from an email I just received breaking down a recently listed retail center. Needless to say, the property is way [...]
Apr
29
Get Over The Hurdle
After marketing a what I knew would be a very attractive Southern California single tenant NNN investment for the last week and speaking with many brokers & principals on about the opportunity, it has become readily apparent that a large percentage of the active buyers in today’s market are applying their same arbitrary return hurdle [...]
Apr
29
No Value Premium for Assumable/Owner Financing
This is just a quick opinion on the role assumable financing plays in the value of an investment property. It is very interesting that many properties are marketed with the assumable financing being a major benefit, when many times it really is more of a detriment or unattractive. Even worse is that some sellers believe [...]
Apr
25
Breakdown: My Analysis of a Deal That Was Too Good To Be True
I have been asked by more than a handful of friends and colleagues to write a post on a specific listing in Simi Valley, CA that was recently brought to market by CBRE. I decided to put my thoughts in writing and attempt to explain how exactly I would break this particular deal down and [...]
Apr
20
No Debt Available For Good Deals? Correct.
Yesterday, John Reeder wrote a post on Marketwise titled "There’s No Debt Available, Even for Good Deals." In the post he pokes fun at the masses crying about the lack of available debt and makes the point that the only reason they can’t get debt is because the deals suck. This may be true for [...]
Mar
30
Phoenix Retail Sucking Wind
The Phoenix Business Journal published a not-so-surprising article this past Friday about the state of retail shopping centers in the Phoenix MSA. The article paints a dismal picture for the state of retail in Phoenix. According to David Wetta, director of Marcus & Millichap’s national retail group, there are 1,753 retail properties in the Valley [...]
Mar
02
Are CAP Rates Heading Back Down?
That is a pretty broad question. I can’t say for sure for every single product type nor do I really care about CAP Rate trends for multi-tenant office/industrial/multi-family/etc. buildings in the midwest/south/east/etc. I can make an intelligent guess and say no, CAP Rates are not heading back down, they are continuing to rise – industry-wide. [...]
Mar
01
Sale/Leaseback Article from Phoenix Business Journal
This article published on Friday, February 26th, 2010 is quite possibly one of the worst articles you will ever read discussing the merits of a sale/leaseback transaction. I feel sorry for the brokers quoted in the publication. It feels like the author chopped up their quotes and used them where she thought best rather than [...]
Nov
12
Comments on CoStar Article About Institutional Transactions
This morning, CoStar published an article entitled Institutional Investors Throwing Big Money Around Class A Quality Retail Property. The article highlights several recent large transactions that have taken place and interviews guys from CBRE, Marcus & Millichap and Jones Lange LaSalle for opinions. A few of the points/quotes caught my attention and I thought I’d [...]
Oct
28
CRE Takeaways From Bill Gross’ Investment Outlook
Bill Gross, PIMCO’s revered managing director, has just published his most recent investment outlook. In it, he calls the end of the recent market rally and warns of a necessity to come to grips with the fact that a new normal is headed our way. The closing sentences sum up his point nicely and he [...]
Oct
28
Vitamin Shoppe Completes I.P.O.
Vitamin Shoppe has just completed an IPO, raising about $155 million. You can read more about it at DealBook. What I thought was most interesting was the fact that this was first I.P.O. by a traditional retailer since December 2007! The proceeds from the offering are being used to pay down debt and to pad [...]
Oct
28
Buyer Requirement Email Done Properly
Yesterday I wrote a post about a buyer requirement email that was so all encompassing it was essentially useless to the author. This morning a new buyer requirement email landed in my inbox and, as luck would have it, the email was well targeted and gives me some good content for a follow-up post. If [...]
Oct
27
Buyer Requirement Email – What Not to Write
Below is the text of an email I received this morning from a broker seeking investment property submissions from the CRE community. The only problem is that the stated requirement is a buyer’s dream wish list and it warrants nothing more than an immediate “delete.” Here is the email: Please forward me available properties that [...]
Oct
26
CMBS Bonds Downgraded on Special Servicing Action
Standard & Poor’s had downgraded 15 classes of bonds backed by a $425 million loan secured against the Four Seasons Hotel in New York and 3 other luxury resort hotels. The action was triggered by a drop in cash flow which was 46% below S&P expectations. Surely, the expected cash flow figure had already been [...]
Oct
22
A Few More Words on Vacancy Factors in CRE Underwriting
I wanted to make another quick point on CRE underwriting as it relates to vacancy. Some of the more “with it” sellers have begun allowing vacancy factors underwritten into their offering memorandums. What is often overlooked is the actual relation of the vacancy factor to operations. Often you will see a vacancy factor of 3% [...]