REal Talk with Adam Perrotta

By Adam Perrotta, News Writer

--It appears as though the tide of opinion calling for government aid for the foreclosure crisis has impelled President Bush to drop his opposition to a $3.9 billion housing rescue bill. Whether Bush's reversal was the result of an allaying of his fears that the aid would be misused to bail out lenders, or simply bowing to overwhelming public opinion is not clear. Either way, it will certainly come as good news to the tens of thousands of single-family owners facing foreclosure.

And in more evidence that, despite an overall slowing in the investment market, buyers are still out there, Harrison Street Capital has closed a $430 million fund. Notably, the fund is heavily financed by moneys from institutional investors, who not only have deep pockets themselves, but also have the capital and reputation to get favorable terms from lenders despite the credit crunch. 

And in an illustration that sometimes a submarket can be very different from the market it's in, Collier Cos. has acquired a 540-unit apartment community in Tampa. Despite the overall down state of that market, the property's location near several large employers and the University of South Florida has allowed its occupancy to remain strong, a lesson that, when evaluating a property for possible investment, buyers should not be put off by a generally slow market, but should instead look to the property itself.

Comments

[RealGuy]

OK, so President Bush dropped his opposition to the bill and it passed but what does the Fannie/Freddie bail out provision tacked on to the bill really mean for US taxpayers and the commercial real estate industry as a whole? What is the commercial real estate industry's view and does this provision simply provide a get out of jail card for reckless lenders and borrowers as many people seem to think it does and finally, will it impede the much needed regulation and oversight that needs to be in place?