| IN THE October
7, 2009 ISSUE |
Starwood Capital Wins Bid for Corus Bank
Assets
A private equity consortium led by Starwood Capital Group
beat seven other bidders with its offer to pay $554 million for a 40%
stake in the assets of failed Corus Bank, according to an announcement
by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC).
In all, the transaction with Northwest Investments LLC, managed by
Starwood, is valued at approximately $2.77 billion, or about 60% of the
Corus portfolio of performing and non-performing loans and assets with a
principal unpaid balance of $4.5 billion. The bank portfolio has more
than 100 loan and real estate owned (REO) assets.
Bach: Weak Jobs Report Is Unwelcome News for Leasing
Markets
Hopes for a brisk return to health in the U.S. labor
market and commercial real estate were dealt a setback Friday morning
when the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported that non-farm
payrolls fell by a worse than expected 263,000 in September. The
consensus among economists prior to release of the jobs report had been
for non-farm payrolls to drop by approximately 175,000.
“The report suggests that it doesn’t look like it’s going to be a
vigorous recovery. It does look like a jobless recovery,” says Robert
Bach, chief economist with real estate services provider Grubb & Ellis.
“As far as commercial real estate, it suggests the leasing markets are
not close to a bottom yet.”
Katrina Creates Safe Harbor for Multifamily
Industry
The story of the New Orleans apartment market is
inextricably tied to Katrina — the hurricane that wiped out 20% of the
city's rental housing stock and decimated the population by more than
half. Ironically, the storm that did so much damage is also the economic
engine that has provided the Crescent City a buffer against the deep
recession that plagues most of the nation.
Over the past year, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has
paid more than $800 million for infrastructure repairs in the five
parishes that make up the New Orleans metropolitan area, according to
the August 2009 New Orleans Index, developed by the Greater New Orleans
Community Data Center. Another $2.8 billion in FEMA money is forthcoming
this year as part of a $5.8 billion commitment to rebuild levees and
infrastructure. That work won't be completed until 2012, according to
Allison Plyer, deputy director of the non-profit.
Annual Green Building Survey, Chance to Win Gift
Card
In partnership with the U.S. Green Building Council,
National Real Estate Investor is investigating green building trends in
commercial real estate — from development to pending federal
regulation. Whether you own, develop or lease green buildings or not, we
value your opinions as an industry professional and valued reader.
Results of the survey will be released at GreenBuild, which is being
held in Phoenix Nov. 11-13. Your answers will be kept completely
confidential and used only in tabulation with others. As an added
incentive, at the end of the survey you will be given the opportunity to
win a $100 Visa gift card.
If you’re a developer, click
here.
If you’re a corporate user, click
here.
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