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Hersha Sells Hilton Garden Inn Gettysburg, PA for $7.75M as it Continues to Shed Non-Core Assets

Hersha Sells Hilton Garden Inn Gettysburg, PA for $7.75M as it Continues to Shed Non-Core Assets

(PHILADELPHIA, PA) -- Hersha Hospitality Trust  (NYSE: HT) continues to strengthen its balance sheet and  reduce its debt load with the continuing sales of non-core assets.(Please see Real Estate Channel posting July 15, 2009, "Hersha Unloads Its Interest in Three... Read More

 
Commercial Properties Selling for 20% to 40% Below Replacement Cost, Says Advisor

Commercial Properties Selling for 20% to 40% Below Replacement Cost, Says Advisor

(GREENWICH, CT) -- Secondary prices are deteriorating for real estate partnerships, reports NYPPEX, a global secondary private market advisory, trading and research firm for illiquid assets.Laurence G. Allen "Median secondary bids continue to decline for interests in commercial real estate... Read More

 
Medical Properties Riding High Even as Other Commercial Real Estate Founders

Medical Properties Riding High Even as Other Commercial Real Estate Founders

(MINNEAPOLIS, MN) -- Financing for medical office properties is widely available, even as other commercial real estate categories scurry to find new loans or to refinance older debt. That's what Healthcare Real estate Insights, a six-year-old industry newsletter, is reporting. Read More

 
STR Reports U.S. Hotel Performance

STR Reports U.S. Hotel Performance

(HENDERSONVILLE, TN) -- The U.S. hotel industry posted declines in all three key performance measurements during the week of 19-25 July 2009, according to data from STR. Read More

 
U.S. Developer Breaks Ground on Biggest Cold-Storage Warehouse in China

U.S. Developer Breaks Ground on Biggest Cold-Storage Warehouse in China

(SHANGHAI, CHINA) -- In the first U.S.-China cold storage development of its kind,  New Jersey-based Preferred Freezer Services broke ground today on a multi-million-dollar, 280,000-square facility at Lingang Logistics Park in Shanghai.After construction, the refrigerated warehouse will be the largest... Read More

 
Refinances in Second Quarter Reduce Mortgage Payments by $3.4 Billion in Coming Year

Refinances in Second Quarter Reduce Mortgage Payments by $3.4 Billion in Coming Year

(MCLEAN, VA) -- In the second quarter of 2009, half of borrowers who refinanced their loan lowered their annual mortgage interest rate by at least 20 percent according to Freddie Mac's quarterly Refinance Report. Read More

 
TV Billionaire Bob Johnson Invests in Planned Hard Rock Casino at New York's Aqueduct Race Track

TV Billionaire Bob Johnson Invests in Planned Hard Rock Casino at New York's Aqueduct Race Track

(NEW YORK CITY, NY) -- Big names in the entertainment and leisure industries today struck a deal that could bring the state of New York $525 million in annual revenue.The deal:  A proposed Hard Rock Casino at New York's Aqueduct... Read More

 
Massey Knakal Realty Services Releases Mid-Year Manhattan Building Sales Report

Massey Knakal Realty Services Releases Mid-Year Manhattan Building Sales Report

(NEW YORK, NY) -- During the first half of 2009 (1H09), the Manhattan building sales market (south of 96th St. east of Central Park and south of 110th St. west of Central Park) had 95 closed transactions consisting of 122 properties. Read More

 
Alex's View of the World

Alex's View of the World

I don't know about you, but I am amused at the complaints I am hearing and reading over the new federal home appraisal rule.The rule started May 1 of this year.  It is aimed at preventing fraud in the home... Read More

 
The Latest in Luxury Resort & Real Estate News

The Latest in Luxury Resort & Real Estate News

Cultural Agility, Flexibility Keys to Successful Robert Trent Jones Golf Courses(PALO ALTO, CA) -- Despite the recent downturn in the golf industry worldwide, golf course architecture firm of Robert Trent Jones II (RTJ II) remains active. RTJ II is currently... Read More

 
Q & A with Barbara Corcoran

Q & A with Barbara Corcoran

Q1 - My wife and I are considering selling our studio apartment on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. We need a one or two bedroom and eventually want to buy, but plan to rent for a while until... Read More

 
Bond Yields Rise Slightly, Taking Mortgage Rates With Them

Bond Yields Rise Slightly, Taking Mortgage Rates With Them

(MCLEAN, VA) -- Freddie Mac (NYSE:FRE) today released the results of its Primary Mortgage Market Survey (PMMS) in which the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 5.25 percent with an average 0.7 point for the week ending July 30, 2009, Read More

 
MBA Reacts to FHA Loan Modification Program

MBA Reacts to FHA Loan Modification Program

(WASHINGTON, D.C.) -- David G. Kittle, CMB, Chairman of the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) issued the following reaction to the release of guidelines and details for the Federal Housing Administration's (FHA) loan modification program Read More

 
Wyndham Second-Quarter Revenue Down 19% but Company's Cash Drawer is Full

Wyndham Second-Quarter Revenue Down 19% but Company's Cash Drawer is Full

(PARSIPPANY, NJ) -- Revenue is down, but compared to the rest of the lodging industry, Wyndham Worldwide Corp (NYSE:WYN) is doing just fine, says company chairman and CEO Stephen P. Holmes. Stephen P. Holmes The Parsippany, NJ-based hotel company's second-quarter... Read More

 
U.S. Luxury Hotel Market Facing Tough Enviroment, Says STR

U.S. Luxury Hotel Market Facing Tough Enviroment, Says STR

(News Source: Smith Travel Research)(HENDERSONVILLE, TN) -- Continuing economic headwinds have not spared the luxury hotel spa industry. According to the latest figures of Spa STAR, the spa benchmarking program published by STR, performance metrics were either on par or... Read More

 
Moody's and S&P's Downgrading of Emaar's Credit Not Expected to Stop $52.8 Billion Dubai Mega-Merger

Moody's and S&P's Downgrading of Emaar's Credit Not Expected to Stop $52.8 Billion Dubai Mega-Merger

(DUBAI, U.A.E.) -- Emaar Properties in Dubai, like AIG International in New York, is just too big to fail, according to global analysts familiar with ... Read More

 
Holiday Inn Opens First Hotel in the Maldives in September

Holiday Inn Opens First Hotel in the Maldives in September

(MALE, MALDIVES) -- The Maldives will see the opening of the first international-class hotel for its capital city, Malé. The 117-room Holiday Inn Malé will open September 1, 2009. At 15-storys, Holiday Inn Malé is the city's newest and tallest hotel in the Maldives Read More

 
Dubai Needs to Get Back to Basics Says Veteran Developer

Dubai Needs to Get Back to Basics Says Veteran Developer

(DUBAI, U.A.E.) -- In tough times, some people advise dramatic remedies. Others retreat and wait. One of Dubai's leading developers has another solution. "Dubai must return to the basics which first put it on the map," says Mohammed Nimer, CEO... Read More

 
Highest Foreclosure Rates Remain in CA, FL, NV and AZ, Says Mid-Year RealtyTrac Report

Highest Foreclosure Rates Remain in CA, FL, NV and AZ, Says Mid-Year RealtyTrac Report

(IRVINE, CA) -- There is still no good news on the nation's residential foreclosure front. Irvine, CA-based RealtyTrac reports cities in California, Florida, ... Read More

 
Wachovia Opens Spigot for $374M to Arbor Realty Trust

Wachovia Opens Spigot for $374M to Arbor Realty Trust

(UNIONDALE, NY) -- Arbor Realty Trust Inc., one of the nation's most active lenders to multifamily and commercial developers, has won a three-year breather on its balance sheet.The six-year-old Uniondale, NY lender has closed a deal with Wachovia to receive... Read More

 
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