So I was reading through my morning news and spotted this CMBS deals are slowly sneaking back in ? 

"The commercial mortgage bond securitization window that has been closed for nearly two years during this recession has reopened for business in the last few weeks and investors have lined up encouragingly to take advantage of a new round of CMBS offerings."

 Are things getting better ? 2010 off to a good start ? I would like to hope so. 

I was wondering through the interwebs early this AM over coffee and somehow came across Mr. John B. Levy an investment banker from Virginia. He does a podcast series on commercial real estate and the economy. I think he is worth listening to, your thoughts ?

Wow what a great bunch of people fun, innovative and a lot of the people that will lead the charge out of this mess. Here are some interesting folks !

Ribbit Mobile @ www. ribbit.com

Docusign Sign papers digitally ! www.docusign.com

So once Arizona sells off these properties at bottom of the barrel prices to private ownership, they will then rent them back in the hopes that they will be able to repurchase them at obviously higher prices when the market is better? I could understand a potential upside to sell off unused state-owned properties, but the State Capitol?

"Call it a sign of desperate times: Legislators are considering selling the House and Senate buildings where they’ve conducted state business for more than 50 years.

Dozens of other state properties also may be sold as the state government faces its worst financial crisis in a generation, if not ever. The plan isn’t to liquidate state assets, though.

Ok I know this site is about real estate, but at this stage in the game I think almost all real estate has to start thinking a bit green, a friend sent this Reuters article across my desk earlier today. I sure think it is worth a read.

The article is a recap of H.R.2454 and how it's provisions could profoundly effect the real estate markets. After reading it and reading more, I have to think that "greening" up existing buildings and building new ones with sustainable principals we have to be better off and the investors in the long run will have nothing but an upside, with lower operating costs, higher occupancy rates, and public perception.

I know I want to work in a cool new building that helps the earth and won't kill me. I am now going to go find out how innovation, green and sustainable practices can help us real estate folks make a better go of it.

It has become so hard to access capital for small or emerging business that an obscure imagration program has hit the news as a way to get capital and get a greencard for the people providing the capital, it seems like a win win in my book. 

The basic outline of the EB-5 Visa Program 

• Demonstrate that a "qualified investment" (see below) is being made in a new commercial enterprise located within an approved Regional Center; and,
• Show, using reasonable methodologies, that 10 or more jobs are actually created either directly or indirectly by the new commercial enterprise through revenues generated from increased exports, improved regional productivity, job creation, or increased doemstic capital investment resulting from the pilot program.

As the markets and lenders are worried about the coming wave of defaults and refi troubles in the commercial markets, it appears with falling prices and historically low lending rates, the residential markets actually heating up, while not a bad thing, I would really like to see the prices stop falling.

At this point you can not buy the dirt, lumber and nails for what you can buy a finished property for. People the sky is not falling ! Let's try confidence, we can fix this.

7-Eleven is on the expansion role in southern CA. The Dallas unit of Tokyo-based Seven & I Holdings Co., said that by launching so many stores in the middle of a crushing real estate downturn it will save millions of dollars on rent. There is a great story in the LA Times about what the companies plans are. 

I think this is again a sign that companies are feeling this recession is easing and opening the wallet. 

Enjoy your weekend... Troy 

Good Morning! I hope all had a great and safe 4th of July in the US and my readers around the world had a great weekend.  

In my stumble through the web this Monday morning, I came across a report on National Public Radio's Weekend Edition that was great to hear, many high profile economists think that we may be through the worst of the current recession.

 I for one think, I am going to start down this path and make a strong go of it. I have heard enough of the " it will never end" and "the next great depression is coming".

I was surfing my way through the internets earlier this morning,  and found an interesting article on how banks and other lenders are now having to deal with the growing portfolio of properties that they own due to forclosure actions. 

 Why don't you take a look and lets start a discussion onthe subject. 

Commercial Property Could Become Operating Albatross