Global Viewpoints

ARGUS Stimulus Plan: ARGUS Software to Offer New CRE Firms Licenses at Recessionary Prices

From: Mark Kingston and the ARGUS Software Management Team

The management team at ARGUS Software has been truly moved by the numerous e-mails and LinkedIn messages detailing the current state of the industry. Commercial real estate has been rocked to its core by the current financial crisis, and although the pain of this situation will be felt sharply for some time, it also yields an opportunity to reshape into a stronger, more efficient organism.

While ARGUS has given away many licenses of free software in the last week; the collective ARGUS team feels that there is more they can do. We have received messages from many in the industry who have been laid off or otherwise separated from their companies and as a result have begun to form new organizations and business practices.

We at ARGUS Software applaud these new initiatives and want to help. To that end, ARGUS will offer licenses of the industry standard, ARGUS Valuation - DCF to entrepreneurs and new organizations at incredible prices.

“Practitioners need the power of ARGUS to truly compete in the commercial real estate market,” says Mark Kingston, CEO of ARGUS Software. “My Inbox has been flooded with notes from many of you detailing your new business ventures and expressing the need of an ARGUS license to help your initiatives take flight. We have heard the industry and we are here to help.”

To register to be considered for a deeply reduced license of ARGUS Valuation - DCF, click here >>

 

Certain conditions will apply. All applicants will be reviewed and an appropriate offer will be made. ARGUS Software reserves the sole right to determine what if any discount will be offered depending on the economic and business factors of each applicant. Candidates with businesses formed within the last six months and those who have less than ten employees will be favored.

A Time for Unity

Written By: Pius Leung, CCIM, MRICS, General Manager of the Americas, ARGUS Software

Ten years ago, several CCIM Institute members and I ventured to Beijing, China, to uncover the rich opportunities which lay in this bustling city. We met with a professor at a notable Beijing university, and began a relationship that would serve as the bridge between CCIM and China.

At that time, the CCIM Institute was poised to expand internationally, reaching professionals, brokers, property managers, developers, and more across many borders. I saw the eager minds in Beijing that yearned for knowledge and new and innovative ways to conduct business. I wanted to share concepts, such as real estate investment, with them; thus, I nurtured the then-weak connection between the CCIM Institute and the people of China.

A CCIM (certified commercial investment member) is an expert in the concepts and disciplines of commercial and investment real estate. The CCIM curriculum embodies the knowledge that commercial investment professionals ought to have. It consists of courses which build a foundation for an extensive skill set including financial analysis, market analysis, user decision analysis, and investment analysis for commercial investment real estate.

As a longtime CCIM member and former president of the CCIM Institute, I believe in the Institute’s responsibility to the industry to offer a rigorous educational curriculum. As CCIM’s president, I emphasized the abundance of international opportunities. However, in pursuing this mission, I also realized the severe fragmentation of the real estate industry globally.

Generally speaking, real estate associations do not act or speak as a cohesive body, which creates a weakness in the industry’s ability to influence legislation. As most industry associations are generally small, they are unable to have active lobbyists to represent them on Capitol Hill. In 2005, I began an initiative to encourage CCIM members to meet with their respective state representatives. After discussing my intention with the leaders of IREM, members of both IREM and the CCIM Institute across the United States gathered at Capitol Hill to meet with their state representatives to discuss the common needs and concerns of both groups. By bringing together these two organizations to send representatives to Capitol Hill, we were more effective in having our voices heard.

To date, approximately six hundred students from China have completed the CCIM program, and upwards of two hundred real estate professionals have earned the CCIM designation. Presently, the Institute has over 1,500 members from over twenty different countries. The concepts of sound real estate investment are incorporated into the professionals’ thinking, breaking thought barriers and convention to allow for advancement in thoughts, ideas, and entrepreneurship.

The CCIM Institute represents only a piece of an unfinished puzzle in the larger real estate industry. The notion of a completed puzzle remains an unachievable ideal until the pieces work together to organize themselves into one cohesive voice and body. In order to organize, the process is two-fold: we must work from the top down, and from bottom up. Organization and business leaders must place their agendas aside and agree on common goals. Secondly, members and employees ought to voice their concerns to their leaders and encourage the industry to come together in this way. Once all parties are working in concert, a committee of chosen members could be formed to focus on influecing practively participating in crafting legislation important to the industry.

If my past experiences have taught me one thing, it is this: “United we stand, divided we fall” (Aesop). By bringing together ingenious minds and inventive people with inspiring stories, the renewed real estate industry can break conventional rules (and unintentionally formed boundaries) by avant-garde, cutting-edge thinking. I urge you, fellow professionals, to claim your position in the industry and the worldwide market by coming together as a unified and solidified real estate body through the ARGUS Commercial Real Estate Network.

If you have not joined already, please consider joining us on LinkedIn. Here are the steps for all of us to participate in this unified and solidified real estate body:

Step 1: Connect to me on LinkedIn.com:

1. First, log-in to http://www.linkedin.com/
2. Next, Go to your Inbox
3. Next, Choose the drop down arrow on “Compose Message” to select “Send Invitation”
4. Then, Input my name “Mark Kingston” with the email address “mkingston@argussoftware.com”
5. Last, Click the “Send Invitation” submit button

Or, If you not registered on LinkedIn;

1. First, log-in to http://www.linkedin.com/
2. Complete the registration
3. Next, Go to your Inbox
4. Next, Choose the drop down arrow on “Compose Message” to select “Send Invitation”
5. Then, Input my name “Mark Kingston” with the email address “mkingston@argussoftware.com
6. Last, Click the “Send Invitation” submit button

Step 2: Connect to the “ARGUS Commercial Real Estate Group”

1. First, log-in to http://www.linkedin.com/
2. Next, Go to “Search” drop down arrow and select “Search Groups”
3. Next, type “ARGUS Commercial Real Estate Network” into the search box
4. Then, when our group appears, select “join this group”
5. Last, Click the “Join Group” submit button

Despite the Economic Downturn, the Market for Green Building Materials will grow to $571 billion by 2013, According to NextGen Research

Edited: Jennifer Brenner Andrade
Source: NextGen Research

Green building has become a global phenomenon, driving innovation in the products that are used and the buildings in which we live and work. What started with a handful of government buildings utilizing first-generation sustainable building products is now a worldwide movement, with commercial construction and residential building moving to the fore in sustainability. Voluntary standards and government mandates are driving growth in green building, as awareness of environmental issues has increased in developed and developing countries.

The global green building materials market continues to grow, despite the global economic downturn. The worldwide green building materials market was valued at $455.3 billion in 2008, and NextGen Research, in its new report “Green Building Materials: Making Cement, Insulation and Wood Products Increasingly Environmentally Friendly” forecasts the market will grow at a CAGR of nearly 5% to reach $571 billion by 2013.

Says Larry Fisher, research director of NextGen Research, “The construction industry has an immense impact on the environment, so green building products are a key market within the global environmental movement. After all, buildings are one of the heaviest consumers of natural resources and account for a significant portion of the greenhouse gas emissions that affect climate change.”

Mr. Fisher explains, “In the US, buildings account for 38% of all CO2 emissions, use 13.6% of all potable water, and consume 72% of all electrical power generation. Commercial and residential developers need to assess the total life cycle of all the building products and materials they utilize, as they can have a substantial, lasting effect on the environment.”

Commercial office buildings will be the largest non-residential target sector for green building products over the forecast period, according to the study, which also found that both the new residential building and home improvement sectors present significant opportunities for green building products manufacturers.

The Green Building Materials study assesses the outlook for the use of greener materials in construction, worldwide and by major global region. Specific categories of building materials analyzed include cement, engineered wood, and insulation products.

Fabege Sells Industrial Property in Sweden for Approx. $7.7M USD

Edited: Jennifer Brenner Andrade
Source: Fabege

Fabege (STO:FABG) has sold its Generatorn 17 leasehold property in Ulvsunda, Stockholm to ITK hiss AB for a consideration of SEK 60m or approximately $7.7M USD. The property comprises about 5,900 m2 of industrial space and the occupancy date is 1 July 2009.

The sale will result in a profit after tax of SEK 9m or approximately $1.2M, which will be recognised in the second quarter of 2009.

“The sale is in line with our strategy of disposing of properties that lie outside our priority markets and concentrated property management units,” Christian Hermelin, Fabege’s CEO, comments.

Fabege AB (publ) is one of Sweden’s leading property companies focusing on commercial premises. The book value of the company’s property portfolio is approximately SEK 29.4bn or approximately $3.8B USD. The portfolio is concentrated to the Stockholm region and has an annualised rental value of SEK 2.4bn or approximately $309M USD and a lettable area of 1.4m square metres. Fabege’s shares are listed on the Stockholm Stock Exchange, Large Cap segment.

Los Angeles CRE Veteran Launches New Firm

Edited: Jennifer Brenner Andrade
Source: Wasserman Commercial Real Estate

Robert E. Wasserman, a commercial real estate broker with nearly one million square feet of transaction volume, has launched a new real estate brokerage firm, Wasserman Commercial Real Estate. Wasserman has opened a Santa Monica office at 100 Wilshire Boulevard.

Wasserman recently left Studley’s West Los Angeles office where he advised high-profile entertainment, law and health care tenants. He began his career representing landlords and tenants at Lee & Associates where he was recognized as “Rookie of the Year” and “Associate with the Highest Number of Transactions.”

Wasserman is currently advising several clients on considerations totaling approximately 200,000 square feet.

“Too many commercial tenants are burdened with occupancy costs that exceed current market rates,” Wasserman says. “Companies need to take another look at their real estate strategies and leverage the market to their benefit. Wasserman Commercial Real Estate will devise and effectively implement these plans of action.”

Wasserman is an active member of the Los Angeles Commercial Real Estate Association and the Los Angeles Mid-Market Professionals Group.

Kennedy Wilson Auction Group Creates Commercial Auction Division

Edited: Jennifer Brenner Andrade
Source: Kennedy Wilson

Kennedy Wilson Auction Group, a division of the international real estate services and investment company Kennedy Wilson, announces the formation of its Commercial Auction Division. Clifford Smith, senior vice president of Kennedy Wilson’s Commercial Investment Group (KW Investments), has been appointed to lead the commercial auction division, according to Rhett Winchell, president of the Auction Group.

“We’re excited about this newly formed division, and confident that we’ll be able to utilize our expertise to generate a significant volume of commercial real estate auction activity which will have a positive effect on the current real estate market,” said Winchell.

Kennedy Wilson Auction Group was recently retained by Pfizer Inc. to dispose of 6901 Portage Road, a 364,000± square foot facility located in Portage, Michigan. Subject to the terms of the offering, the proposed auction format offers the property for sale to the most qualified bidder regardless of price. The transaction was structured to sell this Pfizer surplus office building without a reserve price to maximize the largest group of interested investors, said Smith.

Sealed bids will be received by Kennedy Wilson Auction Group by noon PDT on June 16, 2009 with the conclusion of the best and final bid by 5:00 pm PDT on Friday, June 19, 2009. The Commercial Auction Division has acquired and sold over $5 billion in assets throughout the United States and Japan.

Commercial investments and brokerage have long been a part of Kennedy Wilson’s business activity. KW Investments includes fund management and advisory services for value-added and core-portfolio investments, commercial and multifamily residential property acquisitions and note purchases. Kennedy Wilson specializes in developing and executing disposition strategies for real estate assets owned in portfolios or as single assets by institutions, corporations or individuals.

HFF Secures $50M Freddie Mac Loan for Trammell Crow Residential

Edited: Jennifer Brenner Andrade
Source: Holliday Fenoglio Fowler, LP

The Houston and Dallas, Texas offices of HFF (Holliday Fenoglio Fowler, L.P.) have secured nearly $50 million in financing on behalf of Trammell Crow Residential for Alexan Woods and Alexan Main Street, two Class A multifamily complexes in Houston, Texas.

Working exclusively on behalf of the borrower, HFF executive managing director Jody Thornton and associate directors John Ahmed and Matt Kafka placed two, seven-year adjustable-rate loans with Freddie Mac (Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation). A $22.16 million loan was secured for Alexan Woods and a $27.63 million loan was arranged for Alexan Main Street. Proceeds will be used to retire the existing construction loans, while recapitalizing both assets with assumable, non-recourse financing and flexible prepayment structures.

“Despite an extremely challenging capital markets environment, Freddie Mac never wavered in their focus or in their commitment to these deals,” said Kafka.

Alexan Woods is located in The Woodlands, approximately 25 miles north of downtown Houston . Completed in 2007, the property has 280 units with 99 percent of the units currently occupied. Community amenities include a swimming pool, clubhouse, business center, fitness center and covered parking.

Currently 98 percent occupied, Alexan Main Street was also completed in 2007 and has 286 one- and two-bedroom units, averaging 983 square feet each. Residents have access to a resort-style pool, business center and athletic club. Located at 8333 Braesmain Drive , the property is located at Braesmain Drive and South Main Street in Houston , adjacent to the Texas Medical Center .

“As the majority of sales today have some measure of assumable debt and/or seller financing, TCR was very astute in structuring these properties with attractive, non-recourse debt in-place,” added Ahmed.

Trammell Crow Residential entities develop and acquire multifamily rental communities throughout the United States .