HRA, Inc. helps Artisan Furniture Store find new distribution location

Houston Realty Advisors, Inc. just helped Artisan Home Furniture find a new home at 8786 Westpark. Furniture was the name of the game in the industrial sector during the second quarter.

Houston filled up 1.6 million square feet of industrial space during the three months ended June 30 thanks to the completion of a 1 million-square-foot Rooms To Go distribution center and Ashley Furniture’s new 303,000-square-foot distribution center.

A total of 7 percent of local industrial real estate is vacant, according to a quarterly report on the sector by CB Richard Ellis Inc. That’s down slightly from the 7.1 percent vacancy CBRE tabulated for the first quarter of 2010.

Overall rental rates remained the same at 48 cents per-square-foot. Rates have not changed for a full year, CBRE reports.

Tenants are receiving concessions such as free rent or more money to build out their spaces from landlords, according to the real estate firm’s research.
For more information on Houston office space, Houston retail space or Houston warehouse space and Houston industrial space, please call 713 782-0260 or see my web site at : www.houstonrealtyadvisors.com Offer opportunities for Houston office space. Thank you for your interest.


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Another Smaller CRE Firm Absorbed

May 25, 2010 REON-LINE Business News Letter:

CURTICE COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE JOINS COLLIERS INTERNATIONAL
SUGARLAND, TEXAS — Sugarland-based Curtice Commercial Real Estate has joined Colliers International. Through the joint venture, the team plans to expand their services with an office in Fort Bend County, Texas. Kolbe Curtice, president of Curtice Commercial, will act as the managing director of the Fort Bend office. This expansion is part of Colliers International's global strategy to invest in and grow its platform. The firm has increased its global coverage from 290 offices to more than 480 offices worldwide. For more information on Houston office space, Houston retail space or Houston warehouse space and Houston industrial space, please call 713 782-0260 or see my web site at : www.houstonrealtyadvisors.com Offer opportunities for Houston office space. Thank you for your interest.
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CoStar Power Broker Awards Recognize Top CRE Dealmakers in Houston

Power Brokers
Based on transactions completed and reported to CoStar.
Award Year:
Markets:
2009Houston

Top Leasing FirmsPresented Alphabetically
CAPSTAR Commercial Real Estate Svcs
CB Richard Ellis
Colliers International
Cushman & Wakefield
Grubb & Ellis
InSite Commercial Real Estate
Jones Lang LaSalle Americas, Inc.
Moody Rambin Interests
NAI Houston
NewQuest Properties
PM Realty Group
Stream Realty Partners, L.P.
Studley
The National Realty Group, Inc.
Transwestern Commercial Services
Top Sales FirmsPresented Alphabetically
Apartment Realty Advisors
CB Richard Ellis
Colliers International
Cushman & Wakefield
Grubb & Ellis
Hendricks & Partners
HFF, L.P.
Marcus & Millichap
NewQuest Properties
Studley

Top Office Leasing BrokersPresented Alphabetically
Brad Marnitz
NAI Houston
Brian McMackin
CAPSTAR Commercial Real Estate Svcs
Christopher G. Oliver
Cushman & Wakefield
Clint B. Bawcom
CAPSTAR Commercial Real Estate Svcs
Cody Armbrister
CB Richard Ellis
Derrell Curry
Studley
Eric Anderson
Transwestern Commercial Services
Greg Tilton
Transwestern Commercial Services
Jessica E.Ochoa
CB Richard Ellis
John Pruitt
CB Richard Ellis
Kristen P. Rabel
CB Richard Ellis
Louann Pereira
CB Richard Ellis
Mark W. O'Donnell
Studley
Tim D. Relyea
Cushman & Wakefield
Trey W. Strake
Cushman & Wakefield

Top Retail Leasing BrokersPresented Alphabetically
Alex Makris
CB Richard Ellis
Carson Wilson
Fidelis Realty Partners
Cullen Kappler
NewQuest Properties
David Ferguson
BPI Realty Services, Inc.
Debbie Adams
Gulf Coast Commercial Group
Eric Drymalla
Tarantino Properties
Eric Walker
NewQuest Properties
Ford Scott
NewQuest Properties
Jazz Hamilton
CB Richard Ellis
Jim Bayne
Investar Real Estate Services, Inc.
Matt Keener
CB Richard Ellis
Peggy Rougeou
Tarantino Properties
Robert Bailey
NewQuest Properties
Scott Shillings
SRS Real Estate Partners
Shawn Ackerman
Henry S. Miller Brokerage

Top Industrial Leasing BrokersPresented Alphabetically
Brad Marnitz
NAI Houston
Brian Gammill
Transwestern Commercial Services
Clay Reichenbach
InSite Commercial Real Estate
Darryl Noon
Transwestern Commercial Services
Edward R. Bane
Holt Lunsford Commercial, Inc.
Faron Wiley
CB Richard Ellis
John Ferruzzo
NAI Houston
Jon Michael
NAI Houston
Jude Filippone
Transwestern Commercial Services
Justin Robinson
Stream Realty Partners, L.P.
Kyle Valentine
Stream Realty Partners, L.P.
Rives Nolen
InSite Commercial Real Estate
Ryan Fuselier
Jones Lang LaSalle Americas, Inc.
Sam Brown
Sam H. Brown, Inc.
Walter Menuet
Vantex Commerical Property Group

Top Sales BrokersPresented Alphabetically
Bill Miller
HFF, L.P.
Craig LaFollette
HFF, L.P.
David Wylie
Apartment Realty Advisors
Ed Nwokedi
Cushman & Wakefield
J. Mark Russell
Studley
Jim Gibson
Stan Johnson Company
Steven D. Alvis
NewQuest Properties
Todd Marix
HFF ( Formerly at CB Richard Ellis)
Todd Stewart
HFF, L.P.
Tre T. Banks
HFF, L.P.

For more information on Houston office space, Houston retail space or Houston warehouse space and Houston industrial space, please call 713 782-0260 or see my web site at : www.houstonrealtyadvisors.com Offer opportunities for Houston office space. Thank you for your interest.
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Ed A. Ayres
Houston Realty Advisors, Inc.
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CONSTRUCTION STARTED ON 115,000-SQUARE-FOOT FACILITY

HOUSTON — GRA-Gulf Coast Construction has broken ground on a 115,000-square-foot manufacturing facility for the wooden pallet manufacturer Neopal in Houston. The property will be located on 13 acres at the intersection of Vickery and Aldine Bender. Chris Caudill and Joel Michael of NAI Houston represented the tenant in negotiations. For more information on Houston office space, Houston retail space or Houston warehouse space and Houston industrial space, please call 713 782-0260 or see my web site at : www.houstonrealtyadvisors.com Offer opportunities for Houston office space. Thank you for your interest.


Thanks,
Ed A. Ayres
Houston Realty Advisors, Inc.
Mitaquye oyasin


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ONE PARK 10 PLAZA TRADED IN HOUSTON

HOUSTON — Parkway Properties has sold the 162,909-square-foot One Park 10 Plaza to Beacon Investment Properties for an undisclosed amount. The Class A property is located at 16225 Park 10 Place in Houston. Tenants such as GGS Spectrum and J. Connor Consulting occupy 93.7 percent of the building. Dan Miller and Trent Agnew of Holliday Fenoglio Fowler represented the seller.


DEERBROOK MARKETPLACE PURCHASED

HOUSTON -- Investcorp Real Estate has purchased the 348,542-square-foot Deerbrook Marketplace shopping center from a private seller for an undisclosed price. The Houston property is 98.5 percent leased by tenants including Sports Authority, Best Buy, Bed Bath and Beyond, Marshalls, OfficeMax and PetsMart. Capital Trust provided financing for the acquisition. The asset will be managed by Global Fund Investments


For more information on Houston office space, Houston retail space or Houston warehouse space and Houston industrial space, please call 713 782-0260 or see my web site at : www.houstonrealtyadvisors.com Offer opportunities for Houston office space. Thank you for your interest.
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Ed A. Ayres
Houston Realty Advisors, Inc.
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Potential Commercial Real Estate Armageddon Fading

First Quarter Bank Results: Potential for CRE Armageddon Fading
Weakness, Trouble Remain but Healthy Lenders Could Carry CRE Markets to Better Days


April 28, 2010
Although first quarter results of U.S. bank holding companies across the country are unmistakably downbeat about the short-term outlook for commercial real estate in general, and their portfolios in particular, they also hint at a growing sense that the problems are working themselves out. For starters, banks generally reported that troubled loan assets were systematically moving through their books. For example, older construction loans on commercial developments and owner-occupied properties were being shifted to term loans, giving borrowers a chance to work through slow cash flow periods. Banks were also widely reporting that the inflow of new nonperforming commercial real estate loans was beginning to slow down. At the same time, more of the loans already being labeled as nonperforming were being shifted to the real estate owned (REO) category. From there, it is likely only a matter of time before those assets would be sold back into the marketplace. In the performing section of their portfolios, banks reported that a substantial portion of those assets have also already been renewed or restructured. In its April 2010 Global Financial Stability Report, the International Monetary Fund contained a brighter outlook for bank losses in the near term, as expected write-downs on both the loan and securities books of U.S. banks decreased across the board compared to last fall, said Mark Fitzgerald, senior debt analyst for CoStar Group. "These improved short-term losses are due primarily to two factors. First, signs of an improving economic environment have decreased loss expectations," Fitzgerald said. "Second, some write-downs have simply been pushed forward, as external factors, including low interest rates, have enabled banks to push off distress into the future." In part because of that delay, the IMF report forecasts real estate loan charge-offs are still expected to increase in 2010 and may not peak until 2011. "What are the implications for commercial real estate investors?" Fitzgerald asked, then answered: "The banks supply approximately 50% of all debt capital to the sector, so lending capital could be constrained for some time. However, there is a bright side. If we continue to follow our current path, and distressed assets bleed slowly into the market over time, then healthy lenders may have enough capacity to meet low transaction volumes (especially with depressed pricing). The large banks that have recently reported healthy earnings (primarily due to their trading and fixed-income operations) are a potential source of capital, and these banks have historically been under allocated to commercial real estate compared to the overall banking sector." However, Fitzgerald added: "On the other hand, if an external factor pushed more distress into the marketplace (i.e. major interest rate increases, changes in regulator behavior), this could create significant opportunities for opportunistic investors." What follows are recent comments and reports from specific large and medium-sized bank and bankers regarding current commercial real estate portfolio and market conditions and market outlooks. The statements come from first quarter earnings reports, earnings conference calls and monthly banking condition filings with the U.S. Department of Treasury and are believed to be relatively indicative of what most banks reported. Better To Let a Project Work Out than Foreclose On the commercial side, CRE non-accrual loan inflows actually declined 27% in the first quarter, but it is typically in everyone's economic interest, including ours, to write the loan down to continue to have the developer work the project for us rather than foreclose. The process of structuring and executing these solutions can take several quarters to complete, and throughout this process, these loans are closely monitored, collaterals are re-evaluated and if necessary loss content is recognized. John Stumpf - Chairman, President and CEO of Wells Fargo & Company Heading in the Right Direction When you talk about the uptick in commercial real estate charge offs and nonperforming asset inflow, I think it's important to put it in proper context to remember our overall credit trends. We've seen improvement for three quarters now in charge offs, nonperforming asset inflows and past dues and we've seen improvement for two quarters now in overall nonperforming assets, provision and the watch list…. We saw that the commercial real estate watch list was down by $100 million in the first quarter and then we analyzed the commercial real estate migration for the last several quarters and all those items supported our belief that the negative migration is receding. That being said, there's still a lot of work to do on commercial real estate as you can see from the absolute numbers. While we think there may be variability as we certainly saw this quarter, and as we said in prior quarters, we think the overall trend is going in the right direction. John M. Killian, Chief Credit Officer, Comerica Inc. REITs Driving New Borrowing In February, new commercial real estate (CRE) loan commitments totaled $132.4 million, compared with $47.4 million in the previous month. The increase in new commitments was driven by substantial capital raising activities undertaken by some of Citi's REIT clients, which issued both new equity and longer-term debt to strengthen their balance sheets. Citigroup in the latest Monthly Treasury Intermediation Snapshot Short Hold Period for Foreclosed Assets Excluding $243 million of nonperforming assets (NPAs) in our held-for-sale portfolio, where the loans have already been fully marked, portfolio nonperforming assets totaled $3.1 billion. Portfolio non-performing loans were down over $200 million sequentially, a 7% decline, while other real estate owned (OREO) was up about $100 million largely commercial OREO. That was a really positive move for non-performing loans and as you would expect we are seeing some continued growth in OREO, which represents the combination of treatment strategies on problem loans, with those typically having moved into non-performing status in the year ago timeframe. I would note that only 10% of our OREO has been carried as OREO for more than 12 months. Mary Tuuk, Chief Risk Officer, Fifth Third Bancorp Fifth Third continues to monitor the CRE portfolios and continues to suspend lending on new non?owner occupied properties and on new homebuilder and developer projects in order to manage existing portfolio positions. We feel this is prudent given that we do not believe added exposure in those sectors is warranted given our expectation for continued elevated loss trends in the performance of those portfolios. Fifth Third in the latest Monthly Treasury Intermediation Snapshot Material Liquidity Coming Back into the Market I'm not sure that I would necessarily call it seasonality but clearly the quarter started more slowly in January and early February, and there was a real crescendo through March in terms of sales activity... We started seeing some material liquidity coming back into the market in the second half of the first quarter and that's not seasonal. That is real and it is I think reflective of a recognition that number one, there's a lot of money out there that's been looking for somewhat better trends in commercial real estate in particular and are beginning to see it. So we've seen a great improvement. Chuck Hyle, Chief Risk Officer, KeyCorp KeyCorp's lending strategies remain focused on serving the needs of existing and new relationship clients while being mindful of risk?reward and strategic capital allocation. There was no change in underwriting standards in February. There was no change in loan demand trends in the CRE segment during February. The CRE market outlook continues to be weak. All new commitments originated in February were attributable to the middle market portfolio. During February, KeyCorp continued to extend and modify existing credits given the lack of liquidity and refinancing options available in the CRE market. KeyCorp in the latest Monthly Treasury Intermediation Snapshot A Bifurcated Market Class A properties are doing well and probably are doing better than anybody might mark them, so actually we're not in the business of selling those even though we might have taken a mark on them when we took them in. Those properties tend to come back with the economy, and that's the right thing to do. The C properties, you just sell. C property rarely comes back so you take very strong marks on those right up front and you just sell them because they always have trouble recovering at all. So we've been actively doing that and we're comfortable with our marks. The B properties, obviously the majority of the portfolio, but those are the ones you mark down and you have to manage one by one… So that's a plus, and I think the commercial real estate business over time, if a property loses a tenant, clearly that property has less value as you know. But then they go resign somebody else at a lower lease rate, so the property is worth less, but it's not like it falls off the planet. There is some cash flow. So I think those B properties, I think will work their way through for the most part. James Rohr, Chairman & CEO, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. Ramping Up Owner-Occupied We continue to produce our concentration of nonowner-occupied commercial real estate. We currently have $1.4 billion in nonowner-occupied commercial real estate and $630 million in owner-occupied commercial real estate. At quarter end, nonowner-occupied commercial real estate is down to approximately 45% of our total loan portfolio. Based on where we ended the first quarter, we're now projecting loans to be down approximately 5% to 8% the full-year and are optimistic that we might see some additional lending opportunities in the second half of year that may help us offset some of these decrease. We have recently implemented an aggressive calling program for our bankers to actively pursue commercial industrial loans, owner-occupied commercial real estate consumer loans and residential mortgage loan opportunities. Despite low loan demands, we still manage the book over $209 million in new loan commitments during the first quarter. Anecdotally, we're hearing from some of our customers that business had begun to pick up. However, we have not yet seen evidence of that in increased line usage or loan demand. The sector within commercial real estate, which has experienced the most stress, has been hospitality… Over the last 15 months, the industry has experienced significant declines in occupancy of rates, average daily room rates and revenue per available room. As a result of this deterioration, we charged-off approximately $9 million against the allowance for credit losses associated with this loan portfolio during 2010… We're in the process of finishing up a thorough review of this entire portfolio. J. Downey Bridgwater, Chairman, President & CEO, Sterling Bancshares Inc. Growing Interest in Bank-Owned Properties While commercial real estate administration and problem loan disposition continue to be quite challenging… we are starting to see increased inquiries and activities in the movement of some troubled commercial real estate. We had a large OREO sale in the first quarter, it was good to see and really the focal point of my comments about being some movement and some activity in the OREO account. As you might imagine, there is a lot of multi-activity there. We have some properties coming in and some properties going out. We are continuing to value those properties each and every month to make sure that we have got an accurate balance based on the market value that we are carrying on our books. But during the first quarter I am very pleased, we saw a number of, besides that large sale, we saw a number of sales to small properties throughout the quarter both on some commercial properties, some residential properties, amounts that made us approach that comment there about the activity in the marketplace, and there continues to be some offers and some interest heading into the second quarter. Whereas six months ago, nine months ago, a year ago, there was not a whole lot of interest in bank owned properties, we are starting to see some activity and some movement there as I indicated. Bob Kaminski, Executive Vice President & Chief Operating Officer, Mercantile Bank Corp. Dealing with Construction Loans The increase in the term commercial real estate loans is only partially a result of the decrease in the construction loans. We do have some construction loans that are moving to term loan because the properties are leasing up and they are qualifying. We have fairly strict standards for moving a loan from construction to term. They basically need to qualify as though they were being originally underwritten as a term loan before we move them into that category.
By Mark Hamisher
For more information on Houston office space, Houston retail space or Houston warehouse space and Houston industrial space, please call 713 782-0260 or see my web site at : www.houstonrealtyadvisors.com Offer opportunities for Houston office space. Thank you for your interest.

Maxxam Sells Cooper Cameron Bldg. for $29.7M

Maxxam Property Co. sold the office building at 4646 W. Sam Houston Parkway in Houston to Potamkin Auto Group for $29.7 million, or about $142 per square foot. It is known as the Cooper Cameron building at Westway Park. The nine-story, 210,000-square-foot, Class A office building was constructed in 2001 in the Northwest Far submarket. Robert Williamson, Jeff Hollinden and Barbara Guffey of HFF represented the seller, while Carl Christensen of Net Lease Capital Advisors represented the buyer.
By : Lesile Kon COSTAR
February 25, 2010F

For more information on Houston office space, Houston retail space or Houston warehouse space and Houston industrial space, please call 713 782-0260 or see my web site at : www.houstonrealtyadvisors.com Offer opportunities for Houston office space. Thank you for your interest.
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INFORMATION ABOUT BROKERAGE SERVICES the Texas law requires that all real estate licensees present this information about brokerage services to prospective sellers, landlords, buyers, and tenants. We ask you to help us comply with this law by reviewing this statement to show the Texas Real Estate Commission that we are trying to stay in compliance with their regulations. It is a voluntary act on your part.
Before working with a real estate broker, you should know that the duties of a broker depend on whom the broker represents. If you are a prospective seller or landlord (owner) or a prospective buyer or tenant (buyer), you should know that the broker who lists the property for sale or lease is the owner’s agent. A broker who acts as a subagent represents the owner in cooperation with the listing broker. A broker who acts as a buyer’s agent represents the buyer. A broker may act as an intermediary between the parties if the parties consent in writing. A broker can assist you in locating a property, preparing a contract or lease, or obtaining financing without representing you. A broker is obligated by law to treat you honestly.
IF THE BROKER REPRESENTS THE OWNER:
The broker becomes the owner’s agent by entering into an agreement with the owner, usually through a written listing agreement, or by agreeing to act as a subagent by
accepting an offer of subagency from the listing broker. A subagent may work in a different real estate office. A listing broker or subagent can assist the buyer but does
not represent the buyer and must place the interests of the owner first. The buyer should not tell the owner’s agent anything the buyer would not want the owner to know because an owner’s agent must disclose to the owner any material information known to the agent.
IF THE BROKER REPRESENTS THE BUYER:
The broker becomes the buyer’s agent by entering into an agreement to represent the buyer, usually through a written buyer representation agreement. A buyer’s agent can assist the owner but does not represent the owner and must place the interests of the buyer first. The owner should not tell a buyer’s agent anything the owner would not want the buyer to know because a buyer’s agent must disclose to the buyer any material information known to the agent.
IF THE BROKER ACTS AS AN INTERMEDIARY:
A broker may act as an intermediary between the parties if the broker complies with The Texas Real Estate License Act. The broker must obtain the written consent of each party to the transaction to act as an intermediary. The written consent must state who will pay the broker and, in conspicuous bold or underlined print, set forth the broker’s obligations as an intermediary. The broker is required to treat each party honestly and fairly and to comply with The Texas Real Estate License Act. A broker who acts as an intermediary in a transaction:
(1) shall treat all parties honestly; (2) may not disclose that the owner will accept a price less than the asking price unless authorized in writing to do so by the owner; (3) may not disclose that the buyer will pay a price greater than the price submitted in a written offer unless authorized in writing to do so by the buyer; and (4) may not disclose any confidential information or any information that a party specifically instructs the broker in writing not to disclose unless authorized in writing to disclose the information or required to do so by The Texas Real Estate License Act or a court order or if the information materially relates to the condition of the property. With the parties’ consent, a broker acting as an intermediary between the parties may appoint a person who is licensed under The Texas Real Estate License Act and associated with the broker to communicate with and carry out instructions of one party and another person who is licensed under that Act and associated with the broker to communicate with and carry out instructions of the other party.
If you choose to have a broker represent you:
you should enter into a written agreement with the broker that clearly establishes the broker’s obligations and your obligations. The agreement should state how and by whom the broker will be paid. You have the right to choose the type of representation, if any, you wish to receive. Your payment of a fee to a broker does not necessarily establish that the broker represents you. If you have any questions regarding the duties and responsibilities of the broker, you should resolve those questions before proceeding. Texas Real Estate Brokers and Salespersons are licensed and regulated by the Texas Real Estate Commission (TREC). If you have a question or complaint regarding a real estate licensee, you should contact TREC at P.O. Box 12188, Austin, Texas 78711-2188 or 512-465-3960 512-465-3960. Texas law requires all real estate licensees to give the following information about brokerage services to prospective buyers, tenants, sellers and landlords. Information About Brokerage Services Real estate licensee asks that you acknowledge receipt of this information about brokerage services for the licensee’s records. Buyer, Seller, Landlord or Tenant Date 01A TREC No. OP-K


Information About Brokerage Services


Information About Brokerage Services Information About Brokerage Services read more...

Or go to the Texas Real Estate Commission web site below:
http://www.trec.state.tx.us/