Property auction had a lot of silence

Property auction had a lot of silence

The crowd filed in to the large white tent behind the Bahia Mar resort for Friday’s real estate auction organized by Sotheby’s and Daniel DeCaro Auctions as a four-piece jazz band played a peppy rendition of “I Feel Good.”

But as auctioneer Daniel DeCaro stood and watched from the back of the room, he shared a thought that would prove prophetic.

“It’s going to be a challenging day,” DeCaro said.

Only a handful of the properties would be selling absolute, where any bid would be accepted. The rest carried a non-disclosed reserve, or minimum bid.

Maguire Properties Drops ‘For Sale’ Sign Due to Lack of Offers [Southern California]

Maguire Properties Drops ‘For Sale’ Sign Due to Lack of Offers [Southern California]

Maguire Properties Inc. said Friday that it scrapped plans to put itself on the block amid uncertainty in the credit markets and a lack of viable offers.

The announcement fueled a 16% slide in the Southern California real-estate investment trust’s share price, which fell $2.74 to $14.33 in 4 p.m. New York Stock Exchange composite trading as concerns grew that it may have to cut its dividend.

The move also raises questions about how long company founder and Chairman Robert Maguire will stay in command. He has been under attack from hedge funds who have bought up large stakes in the company. A special committee of independent directors said Friday it will review the company’s nonsale options including its “dividend policy” and “all aspects of the Company’s operations and management.”

“Rob Maguire is likely to step down,” said Michael Knott, analyst with Green Street Advisors, a Newport Beach, Calif. real-estate research and trading firm. “The writing is on the wall that he is going to be ousted,” he said. Mr. Knott expects the 72-year-old Mr. Maguire to stay on in a nonexecutive board role.

Your own Strip kingdom awaits: If you can afford it [Vegas Strip]

Your own Strip kingdom awaits: If you can afford it [Vegas Strip]

If you missed out on last year’s $1.2 billion sale of the New Frontier, now is your chance to snap up 27 acres of land just south of the Sahara — one of only two major Strip-facing parcels listed for sale.

But it’s going to cost you — a lot.

You’ll be dealing with developers Christopher Milam and Australian casino giant Crown Ltd., which have plans to build a $5 billion, 1,064-foot-tall resort there called Crown Las Vegas.

LVTI, a joint-venture company involving Milam, Crown, IDM Properties and York Capital Management, has an option that expires June 30 to buy the property — the site of the old Wet ’n Wild theme park — for $475 million, or $17.6 million per acre. So you can expect to pay more than that for the land, especially because LVTI needs to at least make back its investment and would hope to make a profit.

GL Homes bucks trend, buys $117 million of land [South Florida]

GL Homes bucks trend, buys $117 million of land [South Florida]

Home builders are dumping land, cutting workers and otherwise retrenching, yet GL Homes is still buying. The Sunrise-based builder just paid $117 million for 1,068 acres west of Delray Beach.

Privately held GL Homes bought the site from the Hyder family. The builder put the tract under contract during the real estate boom and closed on the deal early this month, according to property records.

“With the market the way it is, I was shocked they went through with it,” said Mike Blann, general manager of Sunshine Meadows Equestrian Village, which borders GL’s property.

GL officials refused to comment.

Real estate investment trusts prove disappointing in 2007

Real estate investment trusts prove disappointing in 2007

Since January 2001, I have regularly suggested that investors consider adding real estate investment trusts, or REITs, to their portfolios. In that time, the total return from REITs through 2007 has been about 273 percent. Thus, investors who followed the suggestion did quite well.

However, 2007 was a very bad year for REITs. They underperformed the market by 23.3 percent with a total return of minus 17.8 percent.

In February 2007, I said in this column, “Recently, the REIT index was already ahead almost 8 percent, including REIT dividends at an annualized 3.8 percent. As we will see, this performance may mean that much of REITs’ 2007 return has already occurred.”

Unfortunately, as 2007 unfolded, this turned out to be an understatement. February was the high-water mark for REITs in 2007. From that point on, REIT investors saw a steady trend downward.

As Sky Falls, Condos Look For Protection [Tampa Bay Area]

As Sky Falls, Condos Look For Protection [Tampa Bay Area]

When the foreclosure filing came last month, developer Fida Sirdar determined the only way to save The Place at Channelside condominium was to file for bankruptcy reorganization.

It was either that, he said, or hand the keys over to the bank and walk way.

“Generally, people think bankruptcy means the project is down the tubes,” said Sirdar, of Key Developers Group LLC. “But if we didn’t believe in this project’s future, it would be stupid for us to get into this bankruptcy and waste everyone’s time, including our own.”

About a half-mile away, the developers of The Towers of Channelside are fighting for success, too. They also filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in January, after Wachovia cut off the company’s credit.