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Men are twisting the knife that’s already killing shopping malls

February 29, 2016February 29, 2016 by Randybaconin Real EstateLeave a Comment

Men, rejoice. Your dreams might be coming true, all thanks to your desire to never leave your house. A new study from Business Insider Intelligence confirms that men are doing a lot of shopping online. So men are thereby helping drive malls into the ground, which are already struggling on multiple counts.

“When it comes to e-commerce, men drive nearly as much overall spending online in the US as women. The conventional wisdom is that women drive shopping trends, since they control up to 80% to 85% of household spending,” BI Intelligence reports.

And it turns out, more men than women would prefer to never have to leave their houses to shop — especially these guys.

The report noted that 40% of men ages 18-to-34 “would ideally buy everything online.” Women, on the other hand, seem to still care for traditional in-store shopping experiences at times with only only 33% of women agreeing they feel the same.

View entire article on Business Insider website here http://www.businessinsider.com/men-shop-online-more-frequently-than-women-2016-2

Everything You Need To Know About The ‘Reverse 1031’ Tax Workaround

February 23, 2016 by Randybaconin Commercial Mortgage Lending, Real EstateLeave a Comment

Everything you need to know about the 1031 reverse tax workaround

Real estate investors have been using conventional 1031 Exchanges to swap buildings and hurdle big chunks of capital gains taxes. But 1031 Exchanges come with a tight timeline that’s hard to abide by in these market conditions. So here’s Bisnow’s breakdown of a spin on the 1031 that lets buyers duck its normal deadline.

Everything You Need To Know About The ‘Reverse 1031’ Tax Workaround

Fast Facts:

1031 exchanges let investors save up to 30% in capital gains tax on a sale by deferring the tax bill tax free onto another property within a six-month deadline.
In a seller’s market, finding a buyer is pretty straightforward. It’s finding a good deal for your 1031 credit that becomes tricky—especially within the tight deadline.
To get around that, so-called “reverse 1031” exchanges let buyers snag their replacement property before selling the old asset.
In a reverse 1031, seller puts the funds from their sale directly into another building, rather than taking it in as income.
Still under the radar for most investors, the reverse 1031 helps in a seller’s market, where high prices, tight lending guidelines and compressed cap rates make it tough to find a replacement.
Reverses aren’t for everyone—they work best in the high-end market with big-name clients.

The Reverse Process

To discuss commercial mortgage financing needs contact Liberty Realty Capital Group

CRE Valuations are Flat-Lining as Market Cycle Enters Ninth Inning

February 22, 2016 by Randybaconin Real EstateLeave a Comment

CRE Valuations are Flat-Lining as Market Cycle Enters Ninth Inning

Nothing lasts forever, least of all increasing valuations on commercial properties. The most recent Commercial Property Price Indices (CPPI) released by ratings firm Moody’s and research firm Real Capital Analytics (RCA) show that the all-property composite index remained flat in December. There was even a slight (0.3 percent) decrease in prices reflected in the core commercial index. Moody’s/RCA researchers note that this was the lowest the indices have dipped since the market recovery got underway.

In fact, only apartment properties and suburban office buildings continued to see rising prices in December, with indices for those property types rising by 0.8 percent and 1.6 percent respectively. The rest of the core property types experienced price decreases.

The price index for office buildings in Central Business Districts (CBDs) declined the most, by 2.1 percent, followed by index for office properties overall, which declined by 0.4 percent. The indices for retail and industrial properties both showed decreases of 0.2 percent.

According to a recent note from RCA, cap rates on commercial assets have also showed little movement in January and February.

Read entire article in National Real Estate Investor.

To discuss commercial mortgage financing needs contact Liberty Realty Capital.

From retail to revamped: Eastgate Metroplex fills up its biggest spaces

February 18, 2016 by Randybaconin Real EstateLeave a Comment

Eastgate Metroplex

Gerry Chauvin is no stranger to the redevelopment of dead malls — he’s successfully converted malls or consulted with cities converting malls to business use across the country, and Eastgate Metroplex is the sixth he’s been involved with.

Although he estimated his previous redevelopments have taken three to five years to fill up, the former Eastland Mall has taken more time due to the recession as well as the difficulty of changing the perception of the building as a dead mall.

“Even to this day, when we talk to groups they sometimes hold onto the idea of this as an old mall, and they don’t want to be part of it,” he said.

But that perception is fading. As of now, 72 percent of the building’s 900,000 leaseable square feet are now occupied, and Chauvin, a development consultant for Eastgate Metroplex, said an impending deal with a Fortune 500 company for the first floor of the former Dillard’s store will push that up to 83 percent.

Should that deal pass, the biggest remaining space would be the 35,000 square feet that was once a movie theater.

“We don’t have any big blocks anymore,” Chauvin said. “It’s just bits and pieces.”

View entire article by ROBERT EVATT World Business Writer in the Tulsa World

To discuss commercial mortgage financing needs contact Liberty here.

Self-Storage Shows No Sign Of Slowing Down

February 12, 2016 by Randybaconin Real EstateLeave a Comment

One of the biggest deals for the entire self-storage industry closed this quarter when Harrison Street Real Estate sold a 1.1M SF 13-property portfolio to Sovran Self Storage. The $186.4M purchase comprises four properties in California, six in New England and three in Texas. The transaction is one data point in a trend of massive and steady investment sales in the self-storage sector. NGKF managing director Aaron Swerdlin, who repped Harrison Street in the deal, tells Bisnow he hasn’t seen so much interest in a deal in probably five years—and that includes another big deal he did in December worth about a quarter of a billion dollars. For the Harrison Street portfolio, at the end of the process there were five or six potential buyers, all with cash in hand. That kind of rampant interest is creating a market for new investors. Over the last 10 years, Aaron says, those investors have gotten smarter and more educated. Unlike in other sectors, Aaron isn’t detecting any softness in the market. He points out that for 20 years, self-storage has been the top-performing asset in the REIT world. Year-over-year, slower growth can’t really be perceived as softness just because you have 6% growth rather than 9% or 12%.

Read more at: https://www.bisnow.com/houston/news/commercial-real-estate/self-storage-shows-no-sign-of-slowing-down-55763?utm_source=CopyShare&utm_medium=Browser

To discuss commercial mortgage financing needs contact Liberty Realty Capital Group.

4 Reasons Passive Investing Makes Sense In Real Estate

January 29, 2016 by Randybaconin Real EstateLeave a Comment

appreciating real estate

The variety of options for investing in real estate has expanded considerably in recent years with the popularity of investment via crowdfunding. This is making it easier for small investors to become involved in the market and to explore the possibilities of passive investment. The strength of the commercial market in recent years makes this type of investment a good idea, for a number of reasons.

According to the IRS, there are only two sources for passive income: rental activity or a business in which the taxpayer does not materially participate. Gain on a partial or entire disposition of a passive activity generally is also passive income.

While not as entirely restful as it sounds, passive investing in real estate can be a smart way to generate income with little regular effort. It’s basically income derived from a property in which the investor does not “materially participate.” For many investors, this approach makes sense, given the performance of passive assets compared with active investment options in the last few years.

Access

One reason why passive real estate investment is currently so attractive is the accessibility of a huge range of properties. The use of technology and crowdfunding are putting deals from across the country in front of prospective investors, increasing their options. With access to these tools, it’s easier for investors to find the deal that suits them best.

Appreciation

A carefully selected property that is well managed will most likely only appreciate in value, without any effort to that end from the investor. This is not necessarily the case with other, more active, investments. Passive real estate investment can be an effective hedge against inflation.

Read the entire article posted at Seeking Alpha.

To discuss commercial real estate financing needs contact Liberty Realty Capital.