Jonathan Weber writes a column for The Bay Citizen The commercial property market is an interesting economic indicator, shedding light on the overall strength of a metro economy — which segments are doing the best, and what is valued the most by job-creating businesses. The signals are mixed in the Bay Area, but they do suggest that a rebound is under way and that at least for this economic cycle, the perennial concerns that the region might be losing its edge in high-tech are unfounded. In the South of Market district in San Francisco, the office rental market has tightened dramatically in… read more.

By Hui-yong Yu, Bloomberg U.S. commercial real estate yields are near the highest level relative to Treasury bonds on record, a signal to some investors it’s time to buy property. Capitalization rates, a measure of real estate yields, averaged 7.22 percent in the second quarter, based on an index calculated by the National Council of Real Estate Investment Fiduciaries. That was 429 basis points, or 4.29 percentage points, higher than the yield on 10-year government bonds as of June 30, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. It’s about 475 basis points higher than Treasury yields as of yesterday. That spread is near… read more.

The Research Brief blog by Marcus & Millichap With the Bush tax cuts set to expire on December 31, 2010, capital gains taxes will revert to 20 percent from their 70-plus-year low of 15 percent. In addition, barring legislative intervention, the tax rate on dividends will jump from 15.0 percent to 39.6 percent for top earners. When substantial tax code changes took effect in 1986, including a capital gains rate increase from 20 percent to 28 percent, investor liquidations nearly doubled the total realized capital gains from the previous year. Despite the decline in investment values over… read more.

Constraints on commercial real estate lending eased during the first half of 2010, a trend that should continue as more lenders re-enter the securitization market and life insurance companies pursue a broader range of deals. Unlike a year ago, financing has become available for properties over $10 million, and some lenders have re-engaged higher-quality, lower-risk transactions in noncore markets. In addition to greater availability of financing across property types, price ranges and markets, lenders also have increased loan-to-values (LTVs) on new loans by an average of 5 percent from last year. Despite these positive developments, potential borrowers continue to face… read more.

Buying Tenant Occupied Foreclosed Property Under The San Francisco Rent Ordinance San Francisco Apartment Magazine By Jeffrey Woo Banks were not, and are not, prepared to dispose this number of properties all at one time. As a result, REOs have hit the market at rock bottom prices not seen in a generation or more. Among the REO properties on the market, many will have existing tenants. While purchasing an REO property from a bank works mechanically the same as purchasing property from any other seller, there are differences. The selling bank prob­ably knows nothing about the property it is selling. When a bank forecloses,… read more.

Supervisors say they aim to curb abuse Last month, we discussed the tenants rights measure before the San Francisco supervisors. This month, Richard Cole of the San Francisco Daily gives us another viewpoint: Renters in newly sold properties are being intimidated into giving up their rights, some supervisors say, and a measure before San Francisco supervi­sors is aimed at curbing that abuse. But apartment owners say it… read more.