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ORLANDO — Orlando-based CNL Healthcare Trust has purchased five seniors housing communities from affiliates of Primrose Retirement Communities for $84 million. The transaction marks the real estate investment trust's first acquisition. The communities total 394 seniors housing units, all of which were built between 2004 and 2007. They include Casper Senior Living in Casper, Wyo.; Grand Island Senior Living in Grand Island, Neb.; Sweetwater Senior Living in Billings, Mont.; Marion Senior Living in Marion, Ohio; and Mansfield Senior Living in Mansfield, Ohio. As of Feb. 12, the communities were 95 percent occupied. “We are thrilled to complete our first acquisition with Primrose, which has a successful track record of developing and operating high-quality senior housing communities,” said Stephen Mauldin, president and CEO of CNL Healthcare Trust, in a statement. “We believe seniors housing and other healthcare assets provide an excellent opportunity for our investors as the aging population and rising healthcare costs are expected to continue to drive demand for well-positioned and well-managed real estate assets.” Aberdeen, S.D.-based Primrose, which owns a total of 26 senior living communities, will continue to operate the five communities under a long-term lease agreement with CNL properties. CNL Healthcare Trust plans to build a …

Is the American dream of home ownership about to be rekindled after a bruising recession forced many potential homebuyers to remain renters? Jay Brinkmann, chief economist at the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA), says that a closely watched survey of apartment renters shows a precipitous decline in the percentage of renters who intend to renew their lease. The trend signals the possibility that home sale activity this spring could exceed expectations. According to research firm Kingsley Associates, 59.5 percent of renters surveyed in the fourth quarter of 2011 indicated that they “definitely” or “probably” would renew their lease, down from 60.8 percent in the third quarter. Kingsley surveys more than 1 million apartment units annually on behalf of its clients. Source: Kingsley Associates’ Kingsley Index The large drop in the intent-to-renew rate between the third and fourth quarters was somewhat surprising, says Brinkmann, and may have been a function of renters receiving notice of rent increases, prompting them to weigh their options. The percentage of apartment renters intending to renew their lease reached a high of 65 percent in June 2010, but has since fallen and is now lower than pre-recession levels, according to Brinkmann. “There are some changing attitudes out …

AUSTIN — Austin-based Campus Advantage has met its target of purchasing $100 million in Class A student housing. The student housing company announced Thursday that its recent acquisition of two properties has closed its $100 million joint venture with one of the nation’s largest pension funds. The first acquisition, Hawks Ridge, formerly the Lodge, in Iowa City, serves the students of the University of Iowa. The 201-unit property is fully occupied. The venture also acquired Crimson Student Living in Tuscaloosa, which serves the University of Alabama and Stillman College. The property opened in August of 2011 and is located in close proximity to the campus. The 316-unit property is 95 percent occupied. The joint venture was formed in 2007 to source and acquire Class A student housing assets in close proximity to leading universities across the U.S. Although the press release announcing the two acquisitions didn't disclose the name of the pension fund, it has been widely reported that Campus Advantage entered into a joint venture with the California State Teachers Retirement System (CalSTRS) in 2007 to acquire and manage student housing properties. Campus Advantage has acquired seven properties, totaling 1,540 units in Texas, Florida, Missouri, Kansas, Iowa and Alabama. …

LOS ANGELES —The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) and Westfield Group have entered into a joint venture in which CPPIB will invest $1.8 billion in 10 regional malls and two redevelopment sites in the United States. The transaction is slated to close during the first quarter of this year. Westfield currently owns and manages the properties, which have a total gross value of $4.8 billion. CPPIB’s investment represents a 45 percent interest in the joint venture. Upon completion of the transaction, CPPIB will be one of the largest institutional owners of regional shopping centers in the U.S., with interests in a total of 26 assets. “This is an excellent opportunity to acquire a significant interest in a portfolio compromising high-quality regional shopping centers that are well positioned for long-term growth,” said Graeme Eadie, senior vice president of real estate investments for CPPIB, in a prepared statement. “This acquisition represents our largest real estate investment to date globally and supports our retail real estate strategy of investing in dominant regional malls with best-in-class operators. We are pleased to partner once again with Westfield, a longstanding partner with deep expertise in the U.S. and global retail sector.” The shopping centers in …

BRENTWOOD, TENN. — Brookdale Senior Living Inc., a Brentwood-based senior living owner and operating firm, has acquired nine seniors housing communities for $121.3 million. The properties include a total of 1,295 units. Brookdale previously operated the nine properties under long-term leases. At the request of the seller, the names and locations of the properties were not disclosed. The transaction comes at a time when there is uncertainty in the seniors housing market due to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ruling to cut hospital reimbursements by 11 percent, or $3.87 billion, in fiscal year 2012, which began Oct. 1, 2011. Although the ruling may have bridled sales of seniors housing in the short term, the long-term demand for these facilities is expected to grow. According to Marcus & Millichap’s most recent market report on seniors housing, persons age 65 and older makes up 13 percent of the U.S. population. During the next 10 years, that age cohort is estimated to reach 17 percent of the general U.S. population. Brookdale’s acquisition fulfills a stance made in the Marcus & Millichap report, which stated, “Uncertainty surrounding the Medicare ruling will temper sales velocity … but trading will persist as regional …

COLLEGE STATION — The Texas A&M University System Board of Regents has approved a $120 million classroom building and small animal hospital expansion project for the Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medical & Biomedical Sciences (CVM) in College Station, Texas. “Our goal is to build a premier teaching and research facility that complements our world-class faculty in the College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences and the far-ranging impact they have on both animal and human health,” said R. Bowen Loftin, president of Texas A&M, in a prepared statement. “At this point, the building will be one of the largest construction projects in the history of the university, which speaks volumes about the importance veterinary medicine plays in our state’s economy, as well as in our daily lives.” The new building will include a state-of-the-art classroom and teaching laboratory space, which will provide opportunities for innovations in teaching and will nurture collaboration and creativity. The administrative team of the CVM will begin the planning and design process with a completion date to be predicted in the near future. Funding will be provided solely from the Permanent University Fund, which was established in the Texas Constitution in 1876 as a public …

ATLANTA — Multifamily development is expected to ramp up in the U.S. in the next few years, but are some markets in danger of becoming overheated? Construction lenders weighed in on this question at a panel focusing on bank porftfolio lending appetites during the Mortgage Bankers Association's commercial/multifamily finance conference in Atlanta on Feb. 6. Panelist Ken Broussard, regional executive of the income property group of KeyBank, said the bank has internally discussed the possibility of too much apartment development and whether it may cause a bubble in the sector. “All of our regions are seeing a lot of requests for new construction and financing in multifamily.” According to the National Multi Housing Council’s quarterly survey of apartment market conditions released in October, 67 percent of respondents noted considerable activity, either in the planning stage or actual new construction. In particular, 20 percent said developers are breaking ground on new projects at a rapid clip. Yet even with this increased activity, more than half (54 percent) think new development remains considerably below demand. Indeed, MPF Research reports that national apartment demand continues to outstrip supply by a wide margin (see chart). One market to keep a close eye on is …

Have CMBS lenders learned from their mistakes that led to today’s high default rates, or will they lapse into making irresponsible loans again as the commercial real estate recovery gains momentum? Brian Furlong, managing director of New York Life Investments, who oversees the company’s CMBS investments and structured whole loan activities, raised the question Tuesday during a panel discussion at MBA’s commercial/multifamily real estate finance conference in Atlanta. The delinquency rate for CMBS multifamily loans in January stood at an unhealthy 15.39 percent, according to Trepp LLC. In sharp contrast, the delinquency rates were well under 1 percent for multifamily loans originated by life companies and loans held or insured by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. “The question becomes what led to that difference among industries, and has it been addressed and has it been fixed?” asked Furlong. There is no doubt that CMBS lenders are making more responsible loans today than they were at the peak of the real estate market in 2005-2007, said Furlong. He believes that’s largely because lenders are proceeding with caution during the early stages of this real estate recovery. “But fundamentally some problems of the business — in terms of it being a throughput …

ATLANTA — A steep recession is typically followed by a steep recovery. So what happened this time? Tom Cunningham, vice president and associate director of research for the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, suggests that financial regulation reform, a lack of consumer confidence, rising oil prices and the European debt crisis have all played a role. “It has been a very disappointing recovery by the standards of recoveries,” said Cunningham. “If you were relying on [traditional] econometric models to predict the path of the recovery, you were really wrong.” His comments came Wednesday during the closing session of the Mortgage Bankers Association’s annual commercial/multifamily finance conference in Atlanta. The uncertainty over financial regulation reform can’t be overstated, said Cunningham. “Problems emerge [after a financial crisis], and it seems like a good time to address the root causes of those problems. But changing the rules of the game in a period when everyone is uncertain in the first place isn’t really conducive to immediate economic growth,” Cunningham said, referring to the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. When times are good, there is no incentive to do reforms, and when times are bad, it’s not a good time to …

ATLANTA — David Brickman, senior vice president of Freddie Mac Multifamily, has some advice for business leaders. “If anyone comes along and gives you the option to put your company into conservatorship, don’t do it,” Brickman jokes. Brickman and Jeffrey Hayward, senior vice president of Fannie Mae’s National Servicing Organization, spoke Tuesday about their optimism and frustrations of working for Fannie and Freddie. Their comments came during a panel discussion focusing on agency lending at the Mortgage Bankers Association’s annual commercial/multifamily finance conference. Fannie and Freddie’s assets and operations have been under the control of the Federal Housing Financing Agency (FHFA) since 2008. The FHFA has put constraints on the agencies and is in control of the agencies’ operations for the foreseeable future. “There’s a significant layer of control put on us, and we simply can’t control our own destiny,” said Brickman. “It’s hard to provide great strategic direction when you can’t control (your future).” Despite the distractions, the agencies’ multifamily divisions posted exceptional years in 2011 from a production standpoint. Fannie Mae recorded approximately $24 billion of multifamily mortgage volume in 2011, a 46 percent jump from 2010, while Freddie Mac’s production tallied about $20.3 billion, a 32 percent …