Archive for the 'Articles' Category

31 Mar

Commercial Real Estate’s Recessionary Illusion

We are witnessing more and more vacant commercial real estate space. How many office buildings or retail buildings with vacant space really have to be vacant? Too many asset managers expect to re-lease expired leases at the same or higher rent. This type of thinking is either the product of a masochistic, naive or foolish […]

19 Mar

Fourth Quarter Recovery and Water Torture

Reflecting on “Investors See a Glimmer and Shares Soar Worldwide” in the March 13 New York Times, the recent one-week stock market run-up has some of the experts (the same ones that missed the whole downturn) tripping over each other telling us the worst is over. They say we’re on the way to a 4th […]

17 Mar

Of Bernie and Due Diligence

Following is an electronic copy of the Friday 13th Wall Street Journal Review & Outlook, titled “Of Bernie and Bonuses.” The third paragraph states “At one end of his trail of victims are people of modest means who misplaced a natural instinct to trust. Their losses shock and madden everyone. At the other, among the […]

16 Mar

The Morality of Acquiring Commercial Real Estate

The latest in the line of businesses seeking government handouts is the commercial real estate industry (see following WSJ article “Knock on ‘Opportunity’: Sharp Losses”). Where should the government’s demarcation line be for underwriting the bad loans, mortgages and losses permeating the commercial real estate industry? How does it differentiate between who to help and […]