Apartments: Equity Residential raises asset sale outlook to $900 million

Equity Residential, the largest publicly traded owner of apartments in the U.S., raised its forecast for property sales this year to $900 million as investor demand increased.

Nationwide sales of rental apartments climbed 12 percent in the third quarter from the previous three months to $3.6 billion, according to research firm Real Capital Analytics. Scarce credit and falling property values slowed the pace of deals beginning in 2008. Equity Residential’s long-standing strategy is to exit so-called second-tier markets and buy in cities including New York, Los Angeles and Washington.

The company began 2009 anticipating $700 million in property sales, Marty McKenna, a spokesman for the Chicago-based REIT, said in an interview today. It later boosted that forecast to $800 million, he said.

Proceeds “strongly position us to take advantage of any future opportunities to add high-quality properties to our portfolio,” Equity Residential Chief Executive Officer David Neithercut in a statement yesterday announcing quarterly results.

Billionaire investor Sam Zell established Equity Residential in 1969 and owns about 1 percent of the shares, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Pending acquisitions include a 326-unit apartment building in Pentagon City outside Washington for $99 million. Equity Residential may complete the deal as early as tomorrow, Neithercut said.

The REIT sold 24 properties totaling 4,620 apartments in the third quarter for an aggregate value of $381.1 million, the company said in a statement. It sold 47 properties this year for a total of $734.5 million.

Where the Deals Are

The sales were in suburban Denver, Vermont, Texas and Atlanta, according to McKenna.

The company is close to fully exiting markets in Texas and North Carolina, Chief Financial Officer Mark Parrell said in a conference call today.

The landlord has “no plans” to start new developments, Neithercut said. The REIT will likely report declining revenue from apartment leases into next year, he said.New lease rates are flat in New York and San Diego, and still falling in Los Angeles, Seattle and Phoenix, the company said.

The shares gained $1.50, or 5.4 percent, to $29.06 today in New York Stock Exchange composite trading

Source: Bloomberg News http://www.dailybusinessreview.com/news.html?news_id=58344

Tropical Transfer British executive buys penthouse for $8 million

For more information go to http://www.buymiami.net/

Chris Rokos, a secretive British hedge fund executive, has paid $8.17 million for a condo-hotel unit in W South Beach.

Rokos, a senior partner in the London-based investment firm Brevan Howard Asset Management, bought penthouse No. 5 in the 2201 Collins Ave. building. His acquisition of the 6,466-square-foot unit is the second-most expensive condo deal in Miami Beach in 2009, according to Miami-Dade records.

New York-based Alex Birkenstock’s $9.9 million purchase of a penthouse at Continuum South Beach in May is the top deal in Miami Beach this year.

Calls to Rokos, 38, at Brevan Howard’s London headquarters were not returned. Rokos’ assistant did not respond to an e-mail.

Rokos, who ranked No. 600 in a British newspaper's list of the wealthiest people in England and Ireland, closed on the all-cash purchase on Oct. 12. The sale was not recorded by Miami-Dade County until last week. The penthouse includes three bedrooms, 3½ bathrooms, three outdoor terraces and a pool, according to the W South Beach Web site.

The London native bought the unit from W South Beach development partnership 2201 Collins Fee, a company led by David Edelstein. W South Beach sales director Cathy Strafaci declined to comment on the sale.

Rokos is the second high-profile buyer of a W South Beach penthouse since July. Professional basketball star Amar’e Stoudemire paid $5.58 million for the 4,841-square-foot penthouse No. 3 on July 10. Stoudemire also paid cash.

The 312-room hotel portion of W South Beach opened July 2. Closings on the 409 residential units began earlier this year. The units were listed from $800,000 to $15 million.

At the time of the Stoudemire deal, about 80 percent of the condo-hotel units were under contract. About 40 units have closed, according to broker Kevin Tomlinson of Esslinger Wooten Maxwell, although only 33 are listed in Miami-Dade County property records.

“It is a struggle for any developer to get any buyer to close,” said Tomlinson, who was not involved in the Rokos deal. “It is especially hard for somebody with a project that is not financeable,” Tomlinson said. Lenders have avoided funding mortgages for properties such as condo-hotels since the onset of the financial crisis and recession.

Project developer Edelstein, principal of Tristar Capital, said in an e-mail that new unit contracts signed in the last two weeks total more than $20 million. Tristar co-owns the hotel with RFR Realty. Edelstein said deals expected to close in the next few weeks total more than $30 million.

“We have experienced a substantial increase in global demand for our units. ... We are projecting more than $100 million in closings by year end,” Edelstein said.

OVERSEAS BUYERS

Tomlinson was not surprised the W South Beach sales staff found a buyer in the United Kingdom. Helped by a weak dollar, much of the interest in Miami Beach condos is coming from Europe, he said. The U.S. dollar has declined 7.1 percent against the euro since the beginning of the year, according to Lydian Private Bank.

Developers of condo projects north of Fifth Street are losing potential international buyers to competing projects south of Fifth, Tomlinson said. Of the 13 most expensive condo sales in Miami Beach this year, 11 were at Apogee South Beach at 800 S. Pointe Drive.

“These buyers typically want to go to the south of Fifth neighborhood, which is doing very well,” he said. “With Apogee, the minimum [asking price] is $3.5 million. That exclusivity attracts the creme de la creme. At Continuum, the minimum buy-in is $650,000.”

CONDO-HOTEL TREND

Condo-hotel projects became popular after the 9/11 terror attacks when financing for conventional hotels dried up. Condo-hotel developers found they could finance construction with deposits from unit buyers.

Condo-hotels developed a bad reputation as would-be unit buyers struggled to find financing during the financial crisis, the real estate downturn depressed prices of all residential properties, and a decline in tourism cut into hotel revenues.Lawsuits against condo-hotel developers spiked as many buyers sought to recover deposits.

“These condo-hotels were touted as a great new form of ownership and investment vehicle,” Tomlinson said. “A lot of people bought these under the assumption that they would be great investments and could be financed. Now the proof is beginning to be seen in the pudding, and all of that is changing.”

Condo-hotels have become an afterthought in a tight lending environment, Tomlinson said. A loosening of the capital markets would not be enough to persuade banks to consider condo-hotel lending.

“Banks don’t even want to finance a condo, let alone a condo-hotel,” he said. “I don’t see it changing with an opening of the credit markets.”

Typically, buyers of condo-hotel properties sign a management deal to put the unit into a rental pool. During the condo boom earlier this decade, condo-hotel managers would require such agreements. But with a dwindling group of prospective condo-hotel buyers, managers have become more flexible.

Rokos could choose to hire an outside broker to rent the unit rather use W's rental program. Starwood Hotels manages the condo-hotel program at W South Beach.

Eric Kalis can be reached at (305) 347-6651. 2201 Collins Ave. photo by A.M. Holt October 29, 2009By: Eric Kalis 2201 Collins Ave.

Pending Sale for 1000 Venetian Way # TH 105 Miami Beach, FL for more information go to www.buymiami.net

Enjoy spectacular sunsets & wide bay views from this spacious 4-level sun-filled Venetian Island waterfront townhome..Larger than tax rolls. High ceilings, 4 bed/3.5 bath with over 4,000 sq.ft. of living area + private roof top terrace with hot top and amazing water views!!Dramatic staircase, Elevator, 2 living areas, formal dining, electric shutters. This is a great family home ideally located near South Beach, Lincoln Rd, The Performing Arts Center, AA Arena and Downtown.

For more information go to www.buymiami.net

Can You Find A Great Property Deal On Craigslist?

FOR MORE INFORMATION GO TO WWW.BUYMIAMI.NET

Today you can find just about anything on Craigslist. As a potential Real Estate Investor, did you ever notice that Craigslist is divided into cities? This can be a big drawback when you are searching for properties for sale.
Did you know there is a feature on Craigslist that allows you to search multiple cities at one time? The featured site is called http://www.Craigshelper.com but is now very recently being redirected to http://www.searchtempest.com (Thank you to James Lyon at Vista Pacific Realty for pointing this out).
With Craigshelper all you need to do is type in the zip code where you would like to search for property. It also gives you the ability to specify the radius of the search.
The Ad Notifier feature for Craigslist will alert you when something is posted on Craigslist that fits your specifications. Ad Notifier for Craigslist will even text your cell phone when a match is found. 




What really is critical to get the tools to work is to be sure to use the best search terms. Avoid using a simple term like “house for sale” try using creative search terms that locate sellers. 


The following search terms may be helpful for finding people that need to sell their property:




Owner will finance
Owner Desperate
Motivated seller
House must go
Homeowner must sell
All offers welcome
Seller will carry second
Consider all offers
Terms available
OBO, Or Best offer
Below appraised value
Will sell for what is owed
Lease Option
Rent to own

It is amazing what you can find by thinking creatively when you are looking to purchase property.

Source: Eddie Perez http://activerain.com/blogsview/1292070/can-you-find-a-great-property-deal-on-craigslist-