The Washington Times 27 October
Washington’s office market is predicted to do well next year in a new industry report … but for the most dubious of reasons. As the nation’s economy falters, more people are hiring lawyers to protect their homes from foreclosure or their businesses from bankruptcy. More lawyers means more law firms are leasing offices. Washington has more lawyers as a percentage of the population than nearly anywhere else in the world.
The Washington Post 29 October
Donald Trump’s 92-story Trump International Hotel & Tower in Chicago, which will be the tallest building constructed in the US since the Sears Tower opened in 1973, is getting hit by a triple whammy of colliding forces: the credit crunch, the reversal in the housing market and weak retail sales. The shiny glass skyscraper is one of the few that the brash Trump developed without partners. The situation also puts pressure on one of his major lenders, Fortress Investment Group LLC. So far, Trump has lined up buyers for a bit less than $600m of condo units and condo-hotel units in a residential market that has virtually seized up. Yet he owes lenders as much as $1bn when the loans are due, according to public records.
The Age (Melbourne, Australia) 30 October
According to Ernst & Young, of 16 countries with REIT markets, Australia has delivered the worst returns in the past year – with an average loss of 48.71%. That compares with an average of -21% globally. Australian REITs also had the worst performance over three years, delivering a loss of 6.55%. Investors in Japanese and British REITs lost about 40% in the past year, and those investing in the US lost about 20%. The South Korean REIT market was the only one to post a modest return – up 5.17%.
Propertywire.com 2 November
China is no longer imposing strict limits on bank lending, as it seeks to preserve rapid economic growth while the financial crisis ravages the global economy. The decision by People’s Bank of China is the first signal that banks are easing the burden of lending which is affecting the Chinese market and particularly developers who have been finding it harder to secure funding for major projects. And in India the central bank has cut its main short-term lending rate and banks’ reserve requirements to ease the growing cash squeeze.
