Virtual Open Houses

A retail co-op occupied by Duane Reade in New York City is being put on the block by Extell Development, according to Eastern Consolidated, which is acting on behalf of the seller.

Citigroup analyst Josh Levin picked a gutsy time to initiate coverage of home builder stocks. It’s telling too that he called his first report House of Blues.

Levin paints a still gloomy picture of the industry. He doesn’t think the recently passed housing bill will do much to stimulate new home sales despite tax credits for first time home buyers. Levin sees home prices falling another 10-15% in the next year. He doesn’t think prices for existing homes will begin to appreciate again until 2011.

Sales of new homes should bottom out this year at around 550,000 per year. Just a couple years ago the industry was selling more than twice that.

Still Levin says it may be time to purchase two builders that look like they will weather this storm. He says Pulte Home’s management has been taking steps to strengthen the company’s balance sheet. And luxury home builder Toll Brothers has burnished its finances by reaching out to an Abu Dhabi investment fund for cash. One builder told Levin: “Gas prices are killing us.” Toll Brothers found a way to get some of those petrodollars back.

Bunzl, a consumer products distributor headquartered in the U.K., has managed to wiggle its way into the rarest of accommodations--a 178,000-square-foot Class A industrial property in Orange County.

As Labor Day nears, the effort to revitalize the World Trade Center has experienced significant forward motion as well as a few hitches. In the months to come, the massive rebuilding project is likely to show signs of progress as well as facing a series of difficult choices. Public agencies and private-sector interests swiftly addressed some of the 15 major challenges detailed June 30 by Christopher Ward, the recently appointed executive director of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.

Real estate prices continued to post steep year-over-year declines during the three months ended June 30, according to a new report from the National Association of Realtors (NAR).

Avoiding Realtor commissions might seem like a good idea now that home prices are falling and many people owe more in mortgages than their homes are worth. Free sites like Forsalebyowner.com was among the first sites to facilitate such sales online. It charges a fee of from $90 to $900 for advertising on its site. That’s a lot less than a 6% commission.
Data from the National Association of Realtors shows that fewer people are finding the homes they buy through agents. Last year 29% of all home buyers found their home on the Internet first versus 34% through their agent. Ten years ago those numbers were dramatically different. Half found their homes through an agent and only 2% through the Internet.
Those are the home buyers though. I'm sure the agents don't mind that home buyers are doing some of their work for them. I’d like to see data on how many people try to sell their homes on their own first and then call an agent.

Prudential Real Estate Investors established a joint venture with L&L Holding Co. L.L.C. for the acquisition of premier office properties in the greater New York City area. Acting on behalf of institutional investors, the team will plunk down as much as $500 million for the purchases, most of which will be made in Manhattan.

Prudential Real Estate Investors established a joint venture with L&L Holding Co. L.L.C. for the acquisition of premier office properties in the greater New York City area. Acting on behalf of institutional investors, the team will plunk down as much as $500 million for the purchases, most of which will be made in Manhattan.

Only a day after the finalization of the sale of two Macklowe Properties buildings in Manhattan to Boston Properties, Paramount Group Inc. has closed on another of the buildings Macklowe owned for a while, 1301 Avenue of the Americas. The unconfirmed transaction price, widely reported when the deal was announced early this summer, is about $1.5 billion.

American Assets Inc. has revealed plans for The Commons at Mount Burdell, a green mixed-use project on a 65-acre site in Novato, Calif., about 30 miles north of San Francisco. According to the San Diego-based real estate company's calculations, the 1.5 million-square-foot development and redevelopment endeavor will be able to achieve carbon neutrality within a 10-year period. The Commons will evolve on the site of a Class A office complex on San Marin Drive. Home to the headquarters of the Fireman's Fund Insurance Co., American Assets acquired the property last year and will incorporate the existing buildings into the project. Ultimately, The Commons will encompass 800,000 square feet of new development that will include a premier hotel, retail space, meeting venues, a fitness facility and daycare accommodations. Additionally, 710,000 square feet of existing space will undergo renovation.