Features

NEWARK, N.J. — Prudential Mortgage Capital Co. (PMCC) provided $15.2 billion in financing to the commercial real estate industry globally in 2014, exceeding expectations but down slightly from $15.8 billion in 2013. Despite the slight pullback overall, the company provided more than $3 billion in conventional agency loans in 2014, the highest production volume in the firm’s history. PMCC — the commercial mortgage lending arm of Newark-based Prudential Financial Inc. (NYSE: PRU) — unveiled the results Tuesday during the Mortgage Bankers Association’s 2015 Commercial Real Estate Finance (CREF)/Multifamily Housing Convention & Expo at the Manchester Grand Hyatt in San Diego. In addition to achieving a record year for agency lending in 2014, PMCC reported strong production in general account volume and CMBS transactions. The company — which exceeded its projected goal of $14 billion for 2014 — has as much as $15 billion available for financing in 2015. Among the highlights for PMCC in 2014: Portfolio lending in the U.S. totaled $7.9 billion, while portfolio lending internationally (Japan, the United Kingdom and the rest of Europe) totaled $700 million. CMBS originations on behalf of PMCC’s Liberty Island conduit program reached nearly $900 million. International assets under management grew to more …

SAN DIEGO — The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) projects that originations of commercial/multifamily mortgages will grow to $414 billion in 2015, an increase of 7 percent over the prior year. Furthermore, MBA expects total loan originations will rise to $430 billion in 2016. The loan originations outlook was released Monday during MBA’s Commercial Real Estate Finance (CREF)/Multifamily Housing & Convention Expo 2015, which runs from Feb. 1-4. There are 3,100 attendees at this year’s conference at the Manchester Grand Hyatt in San Diego, up from 2,800 in 2014 and the highest attendance figure since 2008 when the conference drew 3,900 attendees. The MBA forecast is based on the expected level of deal volume among mortgage banking firms. “Commercial and multifamily real estate finance markets are strong,” says Jamie Woodwell, vice president of commercial real estate research for the MBA. “Rising property values, improving property fundamentals, lower interest rates and higher loan maturity volumes should all help boost mortgage borrowing and lending in the coming year.” Multifamily mortgages originated by mortgage bankers are forecast to total $152 billon in 2015. The commercial/multifamily mortgage debt outstanding is expected to continue growing in 2015, ending the year at $2.7 trillion, up more than …

ATLANTA — Billionaire entrepreneur and legendary media mogul Ted Turner, who along with Coca-Cola and Delta Air Lines helped put Atlanta on the map, captivated a packed house at restaurant 103 West on Wednesday afternoon during the annual luncheon of the Buckhead Coalition. Business and political leaders from across Atlanta and Fulton County gathered to hear the 76-year-old, straight-talking Turner reflect on his life and career during a one-on-one interview with Sam Massell, president of the Buckhead Coalition and former mayor of Atlanta from 1970-74. Turner didn’t disappoint. He and Massell bantered back and forth for 20 minutes, leaving the audience hungry for more. The Background Turner began his career as an account executive with the Turner Advertising Co., which made a substantial profit selling billboard ads. In 1970, he entered the television business when he acquired an independent UHF station. In 1976, Turner purchased Major League Baseball’s Atlanta Braves and launched the TBS Superstation, originating the “superstation” concept. The following year, Turner Broadcasting System Inc. acquired the National Basketball Association’s Atlanta Hawks and in 1980 Turner launched CNN, the world’s first live, 24-hour global news network. Over the next two decades, the company built a portfolio of cable television …

What five office markets nationally are the next hidden gems? The answer is Nashville; East Bay, Calif.; Raleigh-Durham; Denver; and Salt Lake City, according to a newly released report from global brokerage services giant JLL titled “Office Perspective: The NERDS.” Those five markets stand out as having rents and vacancy levels below the national average, absorption rates above the national average, and employment and demographic movement growing or forecast to grow at 1.5 to two times the national rate. Affordable homes, affordable office space, and a high quality of life are drawing more people, more specifically Millennials, to these markets. Since 2010, these markets have grown by 5.1 percent. That’s nearly double the national average. In addition, a recent survey conducted by the Demand Institute, a non-profit organization, reported that 48 percent of Millennials prefer the suburbs for their next home. The survey was based on 1,000 respondents. Another major draw to moving to these markets is the relatively low cost of living compared to some of the big cities. For example, the cost of living in these five markets is on average 36 percent less than San Francisco, 41 percent less than Brooklyn and 16 percent less than Austin, …