Tag Archives: Investment

Research experts at Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL) expect a "clear path to stronger performance" for commercial real estate (CRE) in 2014. Reviewing what they call "surprising upsides" in investment sales volume over the last year, JLL's top researchers say they expect the factors driving 2013's growth--an improving lender environment, heightened risk appetite, and the arrival of investors in secondary markets--are expected to continue to move the sector forward. As far as U.S.-specific growth is concerned: "It all comes down to jobs."

The housing recovery continued as expected in 2013, but that's not to say there weren't a few surprises. "[T]he recovery accelerated a lot faster than we anticipated, which was great for sellers and for the 75 million homeowners who saw their home values appreciate," said Lawrence Yun, chief economist for the National Association of Realtors (NAR), in a post titled "7 Housing Trends for 2013." Another surprise for Yun was the large portion of cash purchases.

Crowdsourcing caught fire as a vehicle for financing documentaries and small businesses. Now, the concept of pooled resources is being used as an investment vehicle offering equities in homeownership to investors and loan assistance to selected prospective homeowners. One of the first companies to offer such a program is PRIMARQ, a capital market company headed up by founder and CEO Steve Cinelli, who says equity deficiencies have become a major barrier for prospective homeowners.

Rising prices may be bringing some homeowners out from underwater, but tight credit will still preclude many traditional buyers from the market, according to a recent report from DataQuick.

JPMorgan Chase announced Friday it has reached an agreement to pay billions of dollars to resolve claims from investors related to collapsed RMBS issued between 2005-2008.

Fitch Ratings stated unabashedly a fear that has been whispered across the industry for the past several months--a looming bubble in some markets.

Freddie Mac announced Tuesday it has priced a $630 million offering of Structured Agency Credit Risk (STACR) debt notes, marking the second STACR offering in which private sources--not taxpayers--took on the credit risk. "STACR is part of Freddie Mac's strategy to share credit risk with private investors while also fostering an agency credit market," said David Lowman, EVP of single-family business for the GSE.

Investors remain a crucial factor in the U.S. housing market. As mortgage rates rise along with home prices, it decreases affordability and edges owner-occupier buyers out of the market.

Single-family homes, condominiums, and townhomes sold at an annualized rate of 5.7 million in September, according to numbers from RealtyTrac. September's figures were up 2 percent month-over-month and 14 percent year-over-year, with investors making the biggest impact, particularly in markets where prices have yet to cross the $200,000 mark. "The housing market continues to skew in favor of investors, particularly deep-pocketed institutional investors, and other buyers paying with cash," said Daren Blomquist, vice president at RealtyTrac.

While the common mantra for real estate is location, location, location, an expert at private equity investment firm Siguler Guff & Company says commercial real estate investors should be focused on "timing, timing, timing." With real estate markets historically moving in cycles, the investment boutique says there are great opportunities between the valuation of a property at the bottom of the cycle and the value of that property when it comes to the top.