BRINGING ALOHA STATESIDE

KLM Realty Advisors prez Glenn Silva tells Bisnow that Hawaii is his favorite place to be. The 'Aloha spirit' appeals to him. It translates into his relationship-based business practices, too. Glenn tells us he saw what was coming in CRE and adopted the analogy of a squirrel saving up for a long winter. With a business that provides due diligence and underwriting for transactions, he knew things would be slow in this current cycle.

We snapped this of the Colonnade lobby when visiting Glenn last week. He anticipates deal volume increasing this year, but they’ll be bifurcated into two groups (he used a $10 word, so maybe thingsare getting better): first, lots of core real estate and high profile properties. Those may even have prices bid up and cap rates compressed because of the scarcity. Second, paper and distressed assets. The lending market will make a come back, too, but the terms associated with loans will change, he predicts.

Watching the Oscar's Cinematography award last night inspired us to zoom out on the the Colonnade. Glenn anticipates underwriting work increasing in a fairly big way later this year and next: “When you see companies like JLL or the Apollos of the world starting a new core or opportunity fund, you know what’s on the horizon.” Working with mortgage firms and investors, KLM has underwritten more than $17B in loans since June 2005. Beyond Hawaii (where he’s been several times since his 1988 honeymoon), Glenn’s passion is his family. His company is even named after them: KLM for daughters Kristen and Megan with his wife, Lori, in the middle of it all.