Waiting for the next shoe to drop

Well isn't this just great. First residential real estate. Now its commercial real estates turn. Right after Christmas and the January blow outs I suspect there will be much bloodletting by the retail sector. Costco opening in February 2009 could not have picked a worse time to open. Poor holiday sales (when some make over 50% of their yearly income) will not bode well for renewing that costly lease at the mall. This could be bad for Lakewood which relies heavily upon what small retail sector we have. And most of Lakewood's "retail eggs" are concentrated in the Mall "basket". And you know the saying. Never put all your eggs in one basket (in case it drops). But there is plenty of grief to go around. Cerritos must really be hurting as it relied very heavily on Cerritos Auto Square revenue to furnish lavish city projects (which it still has to maintain). Oh well as the cities like to say about tax revenue..."easy come easy go..."

Real-estate developers reportedly seeking U.S. relief

Dec. 22, 2008

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Developers of large commercial real-estate projects are seeking access to government investment funds as at least $160 billion of debt comes due for refinancing next year and lenders are thin on the ground for the embattled industry, the Wall Street Journal reported Monday. The paper said that developers of projects like malls, hotels and office complexes are seeking access to the recently announced Treasury plan to provide $200 billion of credit relief to borrowers on auto and student loans and credit-card debt. Some of the developers have also reportedly suggested a separate program aimed solely at projects in commercial real estate. The Journal's report quoted a letter that a dozen developers recently sent to Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson, in which they say: "Right now, we believe there is insufficient systemic capacity to refinance expiring, performing commercial real-estate loans. For many borrowers, [credit] simply is not available." The report said that delinquencies on commercial mortgages jumped to 0.96% in November, up from a 0.62% rate in September.

http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/commercial-real-estate-may-next/story.aspx?guid={B8584A95-BB8F-4DB4-A3B3-C9B183F10C92}&dist=TNMostRead

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