Commercial Real Estate Direct Staff Report With the Republican Party taking control of both chambers of the United States Congress, the stage could be set for changing pending rules regarding the retention of risk in asset-backed securities, including...

Commercial Real Estate Direct Staff Report The United States House of Representatives has approved legislation that extends the   government's terrorism insurance backstop program that expired at the end of last year. The House previously had approved extending the...

An affiliate of the Berkshire Group has paid $153.8 million for two apartment properties with 585 units in Raleigh, N.C., and Durham, N.C. The properties are the Crescent Cameron Village, with 282 units at 2128 Clark Ave. in...

Radco Cos. has paid $38.5 million, or roughly $53,922/unit, for three apartment properties with 714 units in Oklahoma City. The Atlanta company acquired the properties from Dome Equities of New York. The properties, which are a combined 94...

Commercial Real Estate Direct Staff Report The retail property sector improved slightly in the fourth quarter and appears poised for bigger gains in 2015, according to Reis Inc. The vacancy rate for shopping centers fell by 10 basis...

Commercial Real Estate Direct Staff Report The Bernstein Cos. has paid $80 million, or roughly $303,030/unit, for Sky House West, a recently-completed apartment building with 264 units in Washington, D.C. The Washington company acquired the property, at 1151...

Following is a list of recent downgrades by Fitch Ratings: Deal Name Current Pool Bal. $mln Orig. Pool Bal $mln DXMark (collateral value, % of par)* Class Size $mln Fitch's New Rating Fitch's Old Rating Notes Bear Stearns...

Investment manager Stone Point Capital has agreed to acquire Situs, a CMBS loan special servicer and provider of advisory services that include due diligence, valuation and asset management. As of the end of November, Situs was the sixth...

Commercial Real Estate Direct Staff Report KBS REIT II has sold the 315,133-square-foot One Main Place office building in downtown Portland, Ore., to New York Life Insurance Co. for $87 million, or about $276/sf. KBS, a non-traded REIT...

Following is a list of recent downgrades by Moody's Investors Service: Deal Name Current Pool Bal. $mln Orig. Pool Bal $mln DXMark (collateral value, % of par)* Class Size $mln Moody's New Rating Moody's Old Rating Notes Credit...

Following is a list of recent downgrades by Fitch Ratings: Deal Name Current Pool Bal. $mln Orig. Pool Bal $mln DXMark (collateral value, % of par)* Class Size $mln Fitch's New Rating Fitch's Old Rating Notes Banc of...

Following is a list of recent downgrades by Moody's Investors Service: Deal Name Current Pool Bal. $mln Orig. Pool Bal $mln DXMark (collateral value, % of par)* Class Size $mln Moody's New Rating Moody's Old Rating Notes JPMorgan...

Commercial Real Estate Direct Staff Report ASB Capital Management teamed with George Comfort & Sons Inc. to buy 158 West 27th St., a 118,000-square-foot office building in Manhattan, for $82.5 million. As reported, the venture bought the midtown...

Commercial Real Estate Direct Staff Report Income growth at apartment properties may face headwinds in 2015 and beyond as supply outpaces demand, according Reis Inc. The national multifamily market's vacancy rate held flat at 4.2 percent in the...

Bank of America has provided a $76.6 million loan against Ten Almaden, a 309,255-square-foot office building in San Jose, Calif., that was recently purchased by KBS REIT III for $116.7 million, or roughly $377/sf. The three-year, floating-rate loan...

Harbor Group International has sold the 600-unit Sun Lake Apartments in the Orlando, Fla., suburb of Lake Mary, Fla., for $66.25 million, or roughly $110,417/unit. The identity of the buyer could not immediately be learned. Harbor had acquired...

Berkshire Property Advisors and UBS Global Asset Management are buying apartment properties in the southeast that are part of a 2,667-unit portfolio that's being sold by Crescent Communities. As reported, the Charlotte, N.C., company is selling the portfolio...

Commercial property lenders are bullish about their business prospects in 2015, predicting that the volume of CMBS issuance will be about 25 percent more than the total issued last year, according to a survey by the Commercial Real...

Commercial Real Estate Direct Staff Report Markit Group and Trepp LLC on Wednesday are launching an index that would track the performance of CMBS that were originally rated AAA. The Markit iBoxx Trepp CMBS Index is a total-return...

Commercial Real Estate Direct Staff Report A total of 11 million square feet of previously vacant office space was occupied during the fourth quarter, marking the greatest quarterly volume of net absorption since 2007, according to Reis Inc....

American Realty Capital Global Trust Inc. has paid $96 million, or $424/sf, for 27027 Tourney Road, a 226,441-square-foot laboratory and office property in Santa Clarita, Calif. The REIT, whose shares do not trade on any exchange, bought the...

Commercial Real Estate Direct Staff Report Redwood Trust Inc. has provided $47 million of senior and mezzanine financing against 717 14th St. NW, a 120,000-square-foot office property in Washington, D.C. The fixed-rate debt matures in 10 years. It...

Pennsylvania REIT, which last year sold eight non-core properties for a total of $191.7 million, said it expects to sell another five retail properties valued at some $261.5 million before depreciation. The Philadelphia company said that since 2012,...

Commercial Real Estate Direct Staff Report Rockpoint Group has paid $218 million, or roughly $975,578/unit, for the Wimbledon, a 223-unit apartment property in Manhattan's Upper East Side. The Boston investment manager acquired the 28-story building from JPMorgan Asset...

Douglas Emmett Inc. has agreed to pay $89 million, or $400.14/sf, for 16501 Ventura Blvd., a 222,423-square-foot office building in Encino, Calif. The Los Angeles REIT is buying the six-story building, commonly referred to as First Financial Plaza,...