While commercial real estate continues to burden the nation’s 7,522 banks and thrifts that reported results to the FDIC as of June 30, the severity of the CRE-related impairment is gradually decreasing and lending is on the increase.

Every commercial real estate entity in south Louisiana— as well as every part of the nation—would like to make the statement that the local economy is on fire and we have nothing but blue skies ahead—unfortunately we must deal with reality.

August was a hot month for home sales in the Capital Region, with a 43% increase in sales during the month compared to 2010. But according to figures from the Greater Baton Rouge Association of Realtors Multiple Listing Service, year-to-date sales through August were still off by 3.3% from a year ago.

The effects from late summer’s national and international economic challenges have cast a huge shadow over the commercial real estate market recovery.

As the “extend and pretend” period of the Great Recession wanes into a period of true loan modifications, lenders and note holders appear to be forcing more distressed loans into the marketplace.

Property owners seeking a buyer to take a distressed office building off their hands should consider marketing to corporate space occupiers as well as conventional investors.

I had written previously about a Real Estate Transfer Tax (RETT). This is a tax that may be imposed by states, parishes or municipalities upon the Act of Sale and transfer of ownership of real estate within the proposed jurisdiction. Real Estate Transfer taxes can vary across the country from very small (.01% in Colorado) to fairly large (4% in Pittsburgh)…

NEW YORK – Commercial real estate, particularly the multifamily market, won’t be as severely impacted as other sectors by the recent economic slowdown, Standard & Poors’ downgrade of the U.S. credit rating and turmoil in global financial markets, according to a new report by CB Richard Ellis Group Inc.

Baton Rouge-based DIG Magazine’s latest cover story, Up or Out: Grow Forth and Prosper, focuses on the 2011 Smart Growth Summit and varying perspectives on what Smart Growth could mean for the Capital City.

CCIM Institute submitted a letter on July 29, 2011, to six federal agencies (Securities and Exchange Commission, Office of Comptroller of the Currency, Federal Reserve System, Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., Federal Housing Finance Agency, and Department of Housing and Urban Development) commenting on a proposed rule on credit risk retention.