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July 29, 2010
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SELLING STORAGE
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| There are more buyers for storage than at any point in his 17-year career, says HFF’s Aaron Swerdlin, who, with Doug McCarron, repped Weiss Realty in its recent sale of the 539-unit, 50k SF Safe Keeping Self Storage to a subsidiary of Wedge Real Estate Holdings. |
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| Aaron, who runs HFF’s national self-storage group, tells us the property’s 83% occupied and includes a substantial amount of valuable land. He and Doug brought it to market at the beginning of the year and had it under contract in March, although loan assumption slowed closing. With over 10 offers, they selected a buyer they knew from past deals. Aaron tells us choosing the right buyer (one that will actually close) is among the biggest challenges now—even more difficult than pricing. His group has closed other deals recently, including a 68k SF property in New Jersey, a 42k SF property in Brooklyn, and a financing of a three-property portfolio in Houston, where he and Colby Mueck repped a borrower. |
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| There are more institutional players (50% of sellers and 80% of buyers are institutional) than in the past, Aaron tells us. A small number of people do most of the deals, but he predicts HFF will sell almost 40 properties this year, potentially each to a different buyer. Aaron brought a 14-property nationwide portfolio to market in May and received 24 offers, mostly all cash. He thinks it may be the biggest deal of the year, and expects it to close in August. Marketing this portfolio changed his attitude about 2010 for the better—the number of offers and tight range made him realize people are in a “do a deal mentality” and aren’t as concerned with getting a bargain as they were in ’09. |
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| According to Marcus & Millichap, occupancy in Houston has fluctuated over the past year and sits in the mid-80s now (down from high-80s at the end of ’08). Rents remained relatively stable through most of 2009 but rose 5.3% in Q4. Developers delivered 326k SF of self-storage space last year (the average annual amount from ’00 to ’08 was 400k SF), and there are no new projects slated to come online in 2010. An HFF report on the sector states that sales have been close to 50/50 distressed to market transactions and there has been increased clarity in pricing, which should promote confidence in capital sources and buyers, and increase sales. |
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| BIG NYC SCHMOOZE, BIG SECRET |
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| We held our fourth NYC Schmoozarama Tuesday night at Touch Lounge on West 52nd, and 350 real estate pros crowded in for drinks, chicken fingers, and networking. Upon closer examination of this picture, we also realize that a top secret lease was brokered right under our nose. |
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| OUR SIXTH ANNIVERSARY |
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| Next month we celebrate six years since we started our publications, first in DC, then NYC, Chicago, Houston, Dallas, Boston, LA, and Atlanta. In pioneering an all-electronic daily CRE e-blast since August 2004, we’ve tried to be fun, colorful, picture-heavy, personality-oriented, informative, and super-timely. We can’t thank you enough for your hospitality and support. Starting with 650 people at Cooper Union in NYC, here’s pics from some recent events as we walk down memory lane: |
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| 500 at the Renaissance in Dallas. |
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| 400 at the Renaissance in Houston. |
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| 600 at the Buckhead Ritz Carlton in Atlanta. |
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| 700 at the Mayflower in DC. |
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| 400 at Willis Tower in Chicago. |
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| 500 in Rosslyn, VA. |
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| We like hearing from you! Please send transactions, story ideas, and event invites to Catie Brubaker, catie@bisnow.com. |
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This newsletter is a journalistic news source which accepts no payment for featured interviews. It is supported by conventional advertisers clearly identified in the right hand column. You have been selected to receive it either through prior contact or professional association. If you have received it in error, please accept our apologies and unsubscribe at bottom of the newsletter. © 2010, Bisnow on Business, Inc., 1323 Connecticut Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20036. All rights reserved.
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