In Case You Missed It: New investment trends in real estate here and abroad are fueling continued recovery
Feb 11, 2013
From attractive downtown properties in London to foreclosed homes in Florida, investors are seizing every opportunity to get a slice of the housing recovery pie. Here’s the news you may have missed last week:
Wall Street Journal: “Blackstone Buying Majority Stake in 40 Shopping Centers”
Blackstone Group is investing in 40 shopping centers worth over $1 billion in a move aimed at stocking up on more properties with grocery store anchors. The company will pay nearly $300 million upfront and absorb more than $460 million in debt in the purchase. Read more on Blackstone’s investment at the Wall Street Journal.
ARS Technica: “London real estate anticipates US tech expansion into Europe”
American tech companies are expanding across the pond and paying top dollar to purchase London’s urban commercial properties. King’s Cross, formally one of London’s seediest neighborhoods, is seeing the likes of Google, Amazon, Microsoft, and Twitter interested in developing new tech centers in the area. ARS Technica has more on how the United States’ tech leaders are vying for London’s best properties.
Wall Street Journal: “Flipping in Philadelphia”
Investors who scooped up properties in smaller cities and suburban markets during the economic downturn are cashing in on their risky investments. Despite some urban real estate markets’ slow recovery, properties are selling for more than double the amount they were purchased for less than five years ago. See how some risks are paying off in a big way at the Wall Street Journal.
Bloomberg: “JP Morgan Joins Rental Rush for Wealthy Clients: Mortgages”
The single-family rental market is a new, unlikely hotspot for investors looking to profit from a recovery in the housing market. JP Morgan Chase has begun offering wealthy clients a share in a new partnership that has purchased more than 5,000 distressed mortgages in Florida, Arizona, Nevada, and California, and will begin renting out the homes to bring in cash returns. Learn more at Bloomberg.
Commercial Property Executive: “Liquidity Returns to Commercial Real Estate”
Keat Foong reports from the annual Mortgage Bankers Association’s Commercial Real Estate Financing/Multifamily Housing Convention and Expo that low interest rates on commercial real estate loans have investors flocking to snap up higher-yielding loans. The return of liquidity has bankers cautiously optimistic. MBA forecasts that commercial multifamily mortgage originations will increase 11% over 2012 to $254 billion in 2013. Read how much has flooded the market at Commercial Property Executive.