The Loan Committee™

South Florida is undergoing a boom in rail, airport and seaport logistics infrastructure.  PortMiami in August is expected to begin a $206 million dredging project to deepen the port’s existing 42-foot channel to at least 50 feet. This will accommodate the large, post-Panamax ships that fit through the expanded Panama Canal in 2015.  Read entire article… Author:  Kevin Gale.  Source:  South Florida Business Journal.

Construction is suddenly rampant again across Miami-Dade County, and demand for sites is driving up the cost of commercially zoned land.  “Prices are increasing at an incredible pace,” said Melissa Tapanes Llahues, a shareholder with Bercow Radell & Fernandez, a law firm specializing in zoning, land use and environmental law.  read entire aticle… Author:  Marilyn Bowden.  Source:  Miami Today.

This may well be the year that property owners in secondary and tertiary markets get a chance to cash in on the spending spree of the nation’s largest publicly held REITs and real estate operating companies. The torrid pace of acquisitions seen within this sector over the past two years is expected to continue this year, but with more buyers casting their nets across more markets.  read entire article.  Author:  Mark Heschmeyer.  Source:  CoStar® Group.

With vacancy rates modestly falling and rents moderately rising in commercial real estate sectors, market fundamentals have improved, but financing remains a challenge for small business, according to the National Association of Realtors® quarterly commercial real estate forecast…National vacancy rates over the coming year are expected to decline 0.1 percentage point in the office market, 0.5 point in industrial, and 0.3 point for retail; however, the average multifamily vacancy rate is forecast to rise 0.2 percentage point, with that sector still showing the tightest availability and biggest rent increases.  read entire article.  Author/Media Contact:  Walter Molony.  Source:  National Association of Realtors®

Ever wonder why it requires a high level of sophistication, knowledge and experience to resolve distressed CMBS loans? Look no further than the complexity of the underlying structure. Check out this info-graphic generated by Case Property Services that merely scratches the surface.  read entire article…  Author:  Shlomo Chopp.  Source:  Case Property Services.

Butters Construction & Development is starting the new year with another announcement for the largest new industrial development in Miami-Dade County. Butters has partnered with L&B Realty Advisors to develop a 918,000-square-foot, Class A bulk distribution industrial park on a 44.5-acre site at NW 87th Avenue and NW 80th Street in Medley, Florida. Butters retained CBRE to procure a well-capitalized and institutional equity partner to acquire the site and develop the park. CBRE identified L&B Realty Advisors, and their client, the State of Florida, as the equity partner for the deal.  read entire article…  Author:  Lauren Crawford, CBRE, Source: Real Estate Rama.

MARKET OVERVIEW.  Cap rates for the single tenant net leased market continued to remain near historic lows for retail, office and industrial sectors in the fourth quarter of 2012. Most notably, cap rates for net leased retail properties declined by 25 basis points when compared to the third quarter of 2012. Cap rates for net leased office properties rose slightly and net leased industrial properties declined slightly. In the fourth quarter of 2012, net leased retail properties are experiencing a premium in excess of 75 basis points over both office and industrial net lease properties.  read entire article…  Author:  John Feeney, Research Director,  Source:  The Boulder Group.

Miami’s commercial market continued its climb out of the downturn in 2012, with improvements across the retail, office and industrial sectors.  But what’s on the horizon for a market vulnerable to a still stagnant national and local economy?  read entire article….  Source:  The Real Deal.  Author:  Alexander Britell.