Monday, August 23, 2010

Commercial Real Estate Foreclosures to Hit Chicago "Loop", First Since 1999; Big Wave of Commercial Foreclosures, Bank Failures Coming

With office space selling 30% below the 2007 high in the top-10 US office markets, and with lease rates still falling, one should expect to see more foreclosures in major cities.

Chicago is about to be hit says Crain's Chicago Business in Office tower at 500 W. Monroe flirts with foreclosure — again http://www.chicagobusiness.com/article/ ... 8212-again

A Georgia firm that holds two junior mortgages on the 46-story tower at 500 W. Monroe St. says the building's loans went unpaid when they came due this month and that the company may foreclose and take control of the property.

It would be the first foreclosure of a major office tower in the Loop in 11 years and a sign that the market remains mired in the hangover of the debt-stoked valuation bubble that peaked in mid-2007. That's when Broadway Partners Fund Manager LLC, a once high-flying New York firm, bought 500 W. Monroe for $336.7 million, with a package of loans that made up more than 95% of the purchase price.

“These are the situations that have gotten awfully complex,â€