Rather than maintaining a separate website and blog we have started to use the latest state of the art WordPress 3.0 architecture with complete integration of our blog, social media content and traditional “static, brochure-like” web pages. The new design will allow us to better communicate with our clients, lenders and friends in the industry.

The guiding philosophy and theme of our website is connecting people, opportunities and capital. Please join us there as we will no longer be updating this site. The author of this blog, David Repka, has also created a personal website to discuss non-business and non-commercial real estate topics. Hope you can join me there as well. Thanks for your support.

Capitalization rates, a measure of real estate yields, averaged 7.22 percent in the second quarter, based on an index calculated by the National Council of Real Estate Investment Fiduciaries. That was 429 basis points, or 4.29 percentage points, higher than the yield on 10-year government bonds as of June 30, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. It’s about 475 basis points higher than Treasury yields as of yesterday.

That spread is near the record 539 basis points in the first quarter of 2009, when the U.S. was mired in the worst of the financial crisis and property prices sank. Risk-averse investors are seeking the highest-quality office towers, hotels and apartments as the gap widens, according to Nori Gerardo Lietz, partner and chief strategist for private real estate at Partners Group AG in San Francisco.

“The data indicate that real estate is poised for a rebound,” said Gerardo Lietz, who advises pension funds on property investments.

View Full Article at Bloomberg.com

By: Lingling Wei in the Wall Street Journal

Even as woes mount in the commercial-real-estate market, a once-vital source of funding for commercial-property owners is showing signs of life.

Banks including J.P. Morgan Chase & Co., Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Citigroup Inc. are expected to launch in the coming weeks two offerings of commercial-mortgage-backed securities, or CMBS, totaling $1.4 billion, according to people familiar with the matter. Representatives at the banks declined to comment.

J.P. Morgan is leading a $650 million offering backed by properties owned by real-estate investment trust Vornado Realty Trust, the people with knowledge of the situation said. Vornado, of Paramus, N.J., will use the proceeds to repay existing debt, these people said. A spokeswoman for the company declined to comment.

[BLOGGER COMMENT: The launch of CMBS 2.0 is still reserved for best in breed Sponsors with clean, low leverage, solidly cash flowing deals.  It is encouraging to know that capital is once again starting to flow into commercial real estate.]

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To connect with David on LinkedIn visit his profile at: www.linkedin.com/in/davidrepka

The entire list can be downloaded from the box.net widget on this site.

By: Jon Reno La Budde

It has been stated in advance and is very true that this collection is the Crown Jewel of St. Pete’s already fine and numerous galleries and museums. I could list them all but I will do that in a future issue.

Many of us, including myself, had pre-conceived notions of what blown glass artwork would look like. I say hold on to that thought, and then go for a tour of the gallery. The pleasant shock & amazement will carry you through the day. At the risk of using an overused saying ‘If you don’t believe me go see it for yourself’. This is where I urge you to pack up the kids and the ‘rents and take a trip to Dale Chihuly’s version of Never-Never Land. I hope to see you there.

[BLOGGER COMMENT: My 13-year old daughter visited the museum this past week and thought it was “really cool”. ]

Fundamentals in U.S. office markets appear to have stabilized and are headed toward an expected recovery, according to CoStar Group in its The State of the U.S. Office Market: Mid-Year 2010 Review & Forecast.

In its detailed quarterly analysis of the U.S. office market, CoStar Group confirmed positive net absorption for the quarter and office vacancy rates that appear to have peaked and are no longer rising.

“As we anticipated two quarters ago, it now appears we have hit the bottom of the market in terms of vacancy and that is critical here in this business,” said Andrew Florance, CEO of CoStar. “The fact that we are clearly showing some sort of bottom and we don’t have a significant increase in vacancy this quarter is very positive news.”

In presenting the latest findings based on CoStar’s research, Florance sought to dispel confusion over the office market’s performance that may have resulted from conflicting media reports.

[BLOGGER COMMENT: In an earlier post this blogger noted the fact that Florida office assets are now trading for substantially below replacement cost. My conclusion is that this appears to be an outstanding entry point for investors that have been on the sidelines waiting for a buy signal.]

Read article

Affluent continue to move to Florida

View full story at Forbes.com

View slide show from Forbes.com.

Tampa Bay Sale TrAs the price

[BLOGGER QUESTION]

Is it time to call a buying signal for office properties in Florida now that the acquisition price has dipped under the replacement cost? Or are office investors trying to catch a falling knife?

On June 24th, the U.S. Senate held another procedural vote on H.R. 4213, which includes the carried interest tax increase. The purpose of this vote was to end debate on the bill, and it required a three-fifths majority or 60 votes in the Senate. This vote failed with the final tally at 57-41. For the most part the vote fell along party lines, except for Senator Ben Nelson (D-NE) who joined Republicans to vote no. Senators Robert Byrd (D-WV) and Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) did not vote. After this third failed attempt to move the bill forward, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) has said that the Senate will move on to other business. It is unclear if or when the Senate will resume consideration of H.R.4213.  Senate Leadership was unable to get the votes necessary because of outstanding concerns relating to several provisions in the bill including the carried interest tax increase. The outreach made by ICSC members was hugely important in educating Senators on the unintended consequences of this provision and the negative impact it would have on jobs.  ICSC members sent more than 8,600 emails and letters up to Capitol Hill and made numerous phone calls to their U.S. Representatives and Senators. This tremendous effort will give us more time to strengthen our case against this detrimental tax increase. ICSC will continue to work closely with the tax writing committees in both the House and Senate to educate them on the technical problems that exist in the carried interest tax provision.

Tampa Bay Real Estate Broker, Eric Odum, interviews Scott Jacobsen, Commercial Banking Manager for NorthStar Bank in Tampa, Florida. They discuss options for business owners to locate capital to continue to grow their businesses in a challenging environment. While finding debt to buy commercial real estate can be tough in today’s market, there are a number of programs available to help. In this video, we discuss the 504 SBA lending program for owner-occupied commercial real estate loans. For more info see http://www.floridatriplenet.com/blog