WASHINGTON, D.C. — Commercial and multifamily loan originations climbed 7 percent year-over-year in fourth-quarter 2019, according to preliminary estimates from the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Quarterly Survey of Commercial/Multifamily Mortgage Bankers Originations. The results were released Sunday at the 2020 Commercial Real Estate Finance/Multifamily Housing Convention & Expo in San Diego. The four-day conference began Sunday and will conclude Wednesday. The industrial, office and healthcare sectors experienced increases in dollar volume of loans in the latter part of 2019. Compared to fourth-quarter 2018, the industrial sector grew by 67 percent, the healthcare sector was up 33 percent and office properties ticked up 29 percent. Multifamily property loan originations decreased 4 percent, and hotel property lending fell 25 percent. Among investor types, the dollar volume of loans originated by commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBS) lenders increased year-over-year by 81 percent, 13 percent for commercial bank portfolio loans and 9 percent for life insurance companies. The dollar volume of government-sponsored enterprises (i.e. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac) loans decreased 30 percent compared to the fourth quarter of 2018. “Commercial and multifamily borrowing and lending hit a new high during the fourth quarter of 2019, surpassing the previous record from the second quarter of 2007,” …
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. economy added 225,000 nonfarm payroll jobs in January and the unemployment rate ticked up 10 basis points to 3.6 percent, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported Friday. Economists surveyed by The Wall Street Journal had forecast an increase of 158,000 jobs. The BLS also revised the job growth numbers upward for November and December by a combined 7,000. The revised figures now show employers added 261,000 jobs in November and 147,000 in December. The average monthly gain in 2019 was 175,000 jobs. Notable employment gains in January occurred in construction, healthcare, leisure and hospitality, and in transportation and warehousing. More specifically, the construction sector added 44,000 jobs, more than three times as much as the monthly average in 2019 (12,000). Economists say the relatively mild weather across the United States early this year gave a boost to the construction industry. The healthcare industry added 36,000 jobs in January, with most of those positions coming in ambulatory healthcare services (23,000) and hospitals (10,000). Employment in leisure and hospitality continued to trend up in January as the sector added 36,000 jobs. Over the past six months, the industry has added 288,000 jobs. Employment in transportation and warehousing increased by …
ATLANTA AND WASHINGTON, D.C. — Pebblebrook Hotel Trust has entered into agreements to sell both InterContinental Buckhead Atlanta and Sofitel Washington DC Lafayette Square for a combined $331 million. InterContinental Buckhead Atlanta is a 422-room hotel in Atlanta’s Buckhead district, situated 10 miles north of downtown Atlanta. The hotel sold at a 6.4 percent cap rate. Sofitel Washington DC Lafayette Square is a 237-room hotel situated a block north of The White House. The property sold at a 5.7 percent cap rate. An undisclosed third-party buyer will acquire both properties. Pebblebrook expects to close both sales by the end of the first quarter.
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Geolo Capital and JW Capital Partners have sold Thompson Washington D.C., a 225-room hotel that opened Jan. 8, to Hamburg, Germany-based Union Investment for $120 million. Union Investment agreed to purchase the hotel more than two years before its completion. Geolo and JW Capital Partners developed Thompson Hotel over the past three years. Following the sale, the Geolo and JW Capital Partners joint venture will remain a long-term tenant, leasing the property back from Union Investment and overseeing management of the asset, which will continue to be operated as a Thompson Hotel. The hotel offers three restaurant and bar concepts by Union Square Hospitality Group, in addition to 7,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor meeting space. Thompson Hotel anchors The Yards, Brookfield Property’s 3 million-square-foot mixed-use development. Bank OZK provided construction financing for the hotel, which is located in Washington, D.C.’s Navy Yard neighborhood. Studios Architecture and Parts and Labor Design NYC designed the hotel, and John Moriarty & Associates provided preconstruction and general contracting services for the project.
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Nuveen, the asset management unit of TIAA, has sold The Woodley, a 212-unit apartment community in Northwest Washington, D.C., for $180.3 million, according to The Washington Business Journal and land records from the D.C. Recorder of Deeds. Boston-based GID Real Estate Investments purchased the property located at 2700 Woodley Road NW for nearly $15 million less than what TIAA-CREF paid for The Woodley in 2014. The apartment complex features studio through three-bedroom units. Community amenities include a courtyard with reflecting pool, rooftop lounge and clubroom with kitchen, infinity pool, library and a fitness center. The Woodley is located adjacent to the Woodley Park Washington Metro station.
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. economy added 145,000 jobs in December 2019, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), falling short of expectations. Economists surveyed by The Wall Street Journal had forecast an increase of 165,000 jobs. The unemployment rate remained unchanged at 3.5 percent. The BLS also revised both October and November job totals downward based on more complete data. The number of new jobs added in October was adjusted slightly downward to 152,000 from 156,000, while the figure for November decreased by 10,000 to 256,000. Following the revisions, job gains have averaged 184,000 over the past three months. Notable December job gains occurred in three sectors: retail trade, leisure and hospitality, and healthcare. More specifically, the retail trade sector added 41,000 jobs, the leisure and hospitality sector gained 40,000 jobs and the healthcare sector added 28,000 jobs. Employment in the leisure and hospitality industry grew by 388,000 in 2019, up from 359,000 in 2018. Meanwhile, the healthcare sector added 399,000 jobs in 2019, compared with an increase of 350,000 jobs in 2018. Conversely, mining employment declined by 8,000 in December. For all of 2019, employment in mining declined by 24,000, after rising by 63,000 in 2018. In December, average …
The office market in metropolitan Washington, D.C., is currently differentiated between a vigorous investment sales market and anemic leasing fundamentals. According to data from CoStar Group and Cushman & Wakefield, office investment sales have averaged $8.4 billion annually from 2014 to 2018 versus $5.5 billion annually from 2008 to 2013. Investment sales in the District have been dominated by Class A and trophy assets with little leasing risk, while demand is buoyed by foreign capital sources. In Northern Virginia, sales have trended toward core-plus and value-add investments led by domestic buyers seeking additional yield. Investors are more comfortable with leasing risk in Northern Virginia due to its robust job growth, a trend likely to continue given the jurisdiction’s comparative advantages in cloud computing, cybersecurity and internet infrastructure. Amazon’s selection of Crystal City for HQ2 and Amazon Web Services’ large block leasing in the Dulles Toll Road corridor are emblematic of these larger regional trends. However, there are signs that investment demand may have peaked for the current cycle. This year’s sales volume is the weakest in several years despite an influx of closings in September to beat Washington, D.C.’s increase to the transfer and recordation taxes from 2.9 percent to …
Driven by increasing high-paying jobs, billions of dollars in public and private investment and healthy population growth, the Washington, D.C., metro area boasts a dynamic multifamily market with rebounding rent growth and stabilizing occupancy rates. Washington, D.C., gained 20,500 jobs in June and another 13,000 jobs in July, according to the District of Columbia Department of Employment Services. Additionally, D.C.’s population topped 700,000 for the first time since 1975. The Washington metropolitan area’s total population has climbed to more than 6 million, and more households mean more demand for apartments. These strong fundamentals have led to increased rent growth in the apartment sector. D.C.’s average net asking rate is $1,990 — up 1.7 percent, making it the sixth-fastest rent growth in the United States, according to Reis. The net asking rate increased for 10 consecutive quarters. Between now and year-end 2020, asking rents are expected to climb 2.5 percent and 3.6 percent by year-end 2021, Reis notes. The District’s apartment occupancy rate is currently 94 percent. In nearby suburban Maryland, rents rose 1.2 percent, and in Northern Virginia, 1.4 percent. Demand, supply in balance Although there was concern over an influx of new construction, multifamily product has been well-absorbed. The …
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. affiliate of Swedish construction and development company Skanska AB has sold the 99M office building in Washington, D.C., to Chevy Chase, Md.-based Polinger Development Co. for $163 million. The transfer of the property is expected to close in the first quarter of 2020. Located at 99 M St. SE in D.C.’s Navy Yard neighborhood, the 11-story office building spans 234,000 square feet and is LEED Gold-certified. Built in 2018, 99M is 87 percent leased to tenants including PYXERA Global, an international trade and development nonprofit organization, and GiveCampus, a digital fundraising and volunteer management platform for educational institutions. In addition to ground floor retail, the building offers a rooftop terrace, fitness facility and a secured bike room.
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Washington Real Estate Investment Trust (WashREIT) has sold 1776 G St. for $129.5 million to World Bank Group, an international financial institution that makes loans to developing nations. According to LoopNet Inc., the office building was built in 1979, spans 266,000 square feet and is located one block from the White House. World Bank’s headquarters is located at 1818 H St. NW, which is kitty-corner to 1776 G St. World Bank has operated out of 1776 G St. for over 30 years and is currently the building’s sole office tenant.