Market Data

Regional Outlook(7)

Markets to Watch

• New Orleans — Local developers are rehabbing the Cosmopolitan Hotel into Louisiana’s first condo-hotel, topping the 24-room historic building with a 26-floor, 103-unit tower, just blocks from the French Quarter. Prices range from $340,000 for a studio to $877,000 for a penthouse, and about 25 percent of the units sold in one day, according toMulti-Housing News.

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• Chicago — Last year’s strong investor confidence in the Windy City pushed office building sales to $11.9 billion, 40 percent higher than 2006. Multifamily sales doubled to more than $2.6 billion, and retail property sales reached $2.7 billion, up 60 percent year over year. Only industrial sales lagged, increasing 4 percent to $2.2 billion, according to ChicagoRealEstateDaily.com.

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• New York — The Westfield Group will provide $625 million toward the $1.4 billion redevelopment of the World Trade Center retail project, partnering with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which will provide $825 million. Construction of the transit hub, memorial, and three office towers should begin this year.

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• Orange County, CA — Office vacancy rates reached 12.4 percent in 4Q07, sharply above 4Q06’s record low of 7.9 percent. However, asking rents remained stable at $2.77 psf per month, which is 10 percent higher than the 4Q06 rate.

Secondary Market Hospitality

Source: Marcus & Millichap

Washington, D.C., Office Leasing Slows

Lower demand and increasing supply are looming over Washington, D.C.’s metro area’s office market, according to GVA Advantis’ 4Q07 report. A slowdown in new government leasing activity pushed metro vacancy rates to 9.9 percent, up from 9.4 percent in 3Q07. Although rents remain strong, landlords are offering leasing concessions to convince tenants to stay put. In addition, more than 13 million sf are under construction in the market, with less than one-third preleased.

Supermarkets Sell

The largest portfolio of grocery-anchored shopping centers in Massachusetts sold for $377 million, as 25 retail properties comprising 2 million sf in Greater Boston were purchased by Denver-based Dividend Capital Total Realty Trust. The portfolio was purchased in two phases, according to Jones Lang LaSalle, which assembled the assets.

Rite Aid Leaving Las Vegas

Rite Aid Corp. is closing 28 unprofi table stores in the Las Vegas area and selling its prescription files to Walgreens Co. The company will continue to operate its one remaining store in Gardnerville, Nev., which is located on the California border. Rite Aid has 600 California stores and more than 5,000 in 31 states. The company is working on selling or assigning leases for the shuttered stores.

2007 Property Transactions

Source: CCIM/RERC Investment Trends Quarterly

St. Louis East Metro Moving

The eastern St. Louis metro area, which comprises Madison and St. Clair, Ill., counties, has almost $9 billion in development projects, according to Leadership Council of Southwestern Illinois. A breakdown of projects include:

Loan Company to Quicken Detroit’s Recovery

Named one of the best companies to work for, Quicken Loans, the largest online mortgage lender, plans to move its headquarters from suburban Farmington Hills, Mich., to downtown Detroit, bringing with it 4,000 employees. The company is considering two sites, the old Hudson’s Department Store and the former Statler Hotel site and has a year to decide and another two years to develop site plans and renderings.