News
Where's the Moola?
October 21, 2009
| Prudential Mortgage Capital’s Melissa Farrell says that the life company side of her firm is lending—to the tune of $5B so far this year. “And we'd like to lend more,” she told attendees of National Realty Club’s bi-weekly luncheon at the Williams Club yesterday, which got them to look up from their Oktoberfest meal. |
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| Melissa says Prudential has $5B-6B to deploy over the next 18 months, but it’s still lending on a conservative basis: it wants leverage in the 55-65% range, stable cash flow, 12-14% debt yield, and preferably sectors like grocery-anchored retail and multifamily. Signature Bank’s George Klett says his bank’s sweet spot is in the $1M-$25M range, but also on the conservative side. Watch for opportunities when banks start to unload problem assets, he says; Signature is doing anything that makes business sense in this market, including some second mortgages. |
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| Cushman & Wakefield Sonnenblick Goldman’s Dave Karson (right, with moderator Allan Riley of Allan Riley Co. and Ackman-Ziff’s Simon Ziff, discussed the JV world, noting that equity will follow senior debt into core deals and we’ll see more REO JVs. But this unloading of assets will bleed out instead of the tsunami we once expected, as lenders are still holding on. Simon notes that returns that sellers think a building can get are still much different than what equity players want to pay. However, foreign investors are looking at the market, based on a slew of recent transactions, including the HSBC sale-leaseback at 452 Fifth Ave. |
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| Allan Riley, Eugene M. Grant & Co.’s Kenneth Levine, and JB Real Estate Investment Group’s Paul Faver. Both Allen and Paul have impressive pooches—Allan’s labrador Maggie is 13 (that's 91 in dog years), while Paul’s long-haired dachshund Roxy is currently starring in a Pillsbury commercial. Roxy’s father won best-of-breed at Westminster last February, where Roxy caught the eye of a doggie agent and got the gig. Might this be a successor to Gidget the Taco Bell dog? (Too soon?) |
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| Newest NRC member Sergio Spodek of DMB Properties with Benchmark Research’s Christine Gagliardi, Working Realty’s Josh Prottas, and RHL’s Randy Lewis. Sergio and Josh are currently on a search—Sergio started the college tour with his 15-year-old son, looking to go into the arts, and Josh seeks a tenant for a retail space at E. 31st and Third Avenue (no venting, no alcohol). Christine reports that her daughter finished in the low 600s out of 20k applicants for the NYPD, and is currently undergoing the five-step process to joining the academy in January. Good luck to all! |
