Commercial & Residential Property Blog

With the commercial real-estate industry bracing itself for the onslaught of hundreds of billions of dollars in maturing loans, the Treasury is considering issuing rules that will make it easier for property developers and investors and their loan servicers to restructure debt, according to people familiar with the matter.

With hundreds of billions of dollars in maturing commercial property loans looming on the horizon, the Treasury Department may issue rules that will make it easier for developers, investors, and their loan servicers to restructure debt.

REITs will be the top players again, much as they were in the 1990s, when the markets move forward in the next few years, predicted speakers at National Association of Real Estate Investors’ (NAREIT) REITWeek conference held in New York City this week.

Sellers have dropped their asking prices on 25 percent of homes listed for sale on Trulia.com, according to a report the online real estate company released last week.

On a national basis, rents and occupancies have fallen. Carrollton, Texas-based M/PF Research says occupancies have fallen 30 basis points, while rents fell a percentage nationally. Meanwhile, Novato, Calif.-based research firm RealFacts says occupancies nationally have fallen from 92.2 percent to 91.4 percent.

Mortgage rates across the board jumped this week, with conventional mortgages reaching their highest point so far this year.

Investors and analysts met with real estate investment trust companies at the National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts REITWeek 2009 in New York this week and liked what they heard.

Turns out that the recession is still on, at least if the latest numbers from payroll firm ADP accurately reflect the state of hiring and firing in the nation. According to ADP on Wednesday, U.S. companies cut an estimated 532,000 employees from their payrolls last month, with goods producers laying off 267,000 workers, and service providers shedding 265,000 positions.

Despite overall sales figures down double digits from last year, transactions are still move forward, albeit in smaller amounts. Another good sign of real estate activity is the re-equitization of the REIT industry that continued in May as more companies deleveraged their balance sheets with equity capital raised in the public markets.

Some brave home builders are back building spec homes, something they had all but stopped doing as the market slowed.